


The Witch

by heyits_reagan



Series: Occult [1]
Category: Sam and Colby, Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Demon possession, Demonic Sight, Demons, Domestic Boyfriends, Established Relationship, Fluff, Ghosts, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Magic, Protective Colby Brock, Protective Sam Golbach, Rituals, Sam and Colby VS the Paranormal, Summoning, Supernatural AU - Freeform, Witchcraft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-01
Updated: 2019-08-20
Packaged: 2020-02-10 19:26:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 36,731
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18666838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heyits_reagan/pseuds/heyits_reagan
Summary: Colby Brock is a novice spell caster drawing the unwanted attention of his new neighbors. They demand he join their coven and follow the proper guidelines of witchcraft.And well, Colby doesn't like to play by the rules.





	1. introductions

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! So, this is my first ever Sam & Colby fanfic. It's kind of out there, I know. I just kind of thought it'd be a neat idea since Colby has expressed his interest in magic, and Sam is practically an unwilling expert on demons and stuff. I already know there's going to be two books in this series, the first for Colby and the second for Sam. Whether there will be a third or not is up in the air.
> 
> Anyways, hope you enjoy! :)

The first few nights in their new apartment, Sam didn’t sleep well.

He found himself sitting in the living room one night long after Colby had already fallen asleep. Sam turned on the TV and flipped through channels for an hour. He was too distracted to really notice what shows he skipped through.

Around three AM, Sam heard a door squeak open down the hallway behind him. He froze, and he felt goosebumps rise across his arms. Sam lowered the TV volume and twisted around to gaze down the dark hallway.

“Colby?” he called tentatively as he slowly rose from the couch.

Sam’s eyes searched the dark hallway. He was looking for a shadow that moved too quick or orbs that floated too close together or anything else out of the ordinary. 

“Yeah,” Colby replied as he walked into the room. He stopped just behind the couch and crossed his arms over his chest. “Why’re you still up?”

Sam didn’t respond. He turned his head back toward the hallway, scrutinizing every inch of it again. Why did he still feel uneasy? It reminded him of all those 3 AM challenges in their old house. It was the same sickly feeling of summoning a demon on an Ouija board or inviting spirits into his room.

“Sam,” Colby sighed. He walked around the couch and took Sam’s hand in his. “Babe, nothing’s here. It’s a new slate, remember?”

“Yeah, I know,” Sam muttered, finally tearing his eyes from the hallway. When he looked at Colby, his eyebrows furrowed, and his stomach churned guiltily. “Did I wake you?”

“No.” Colby tugged Sam toward the kitchen. He released Sam’s hand and began rummaging through drawers. As he searched for something, he continued, “I mean, not directly. I rolled over, and I didn’t feel you next to me.” Colby glanced at Sam before turning to search the drawer next to the fridge. “Where are the markers?”

Sam took a seat at the bar and rested his chin in his hand. “They’re probably upstairs. Remember? There’s a box up there full of junk that we didn’t know what to do with.”

“Damn it, you’re right.” Colby shut the drawer, turned around, and leaned against the counter.

Sam slid off his stool and walked over to Colby. He wrapped his arms around Colby’s waist and tilted his chin back. “What do you need a marker for anyways?”

Colby latched his arms behind Sam’s back and sighed. “Since you’re so freaked out, I was going to draw a protection sigil on the wall.”

For the last year, Colby had been practicing magic beneath everybody’s noses. He chose to keep things quiet because he didn’t know how the rest of the roommates would react. It was only a few months ago when he told Sam, and that was right around the time Sam obtained his Sight. Colby used a calming spell to make Sam relax, and then he had some explaining to do.

After a few minutes of swearing to Sam that weed was not used in making him calm down, Colby was finally able to explain everything he’d been doing for the last bit of their time in the Trap House. It took Sam a week to finally understand and believe what Colby was telling him (the only good part about Sam obtaining his Sight was that it opened his mind to anything paranormal).

Sam still didn’t really understand how the magic and everything worked, but if Colby was passionate about it, then Sam would sure as hell support him.

“Who says I’m freaked out?”

Colby gave him a flat look.

Sam rolled his eyes and stepped out of Colby’s embrace. “I’m not freaked out,” he reassured. “I’m just… Cautious, like I have been for months.”

“But you don’t need to be here. Nothing followed us, right?”

Sam chewed on his lip. “Not that I’ve seen.” He hugged himself and looked around. “It’s been a few days, and I haven’t seen anything. I guess I’m just on edge.”

“Shouldn’t not seeing anything be good?”

Sam shrugged. “Yeah, but now I’m just waiting for the next time.”

Colby shook his head. “Don’t focus on the next time. The only thing you need to worry about right now is sleep.”

Sam laughed weakly. “I haven’t been able to sleep the past few months.”

Colby smiled and stepped toward him. “Leave it to me.” He raised his hand to Sam’s face and pressed a finger to the blond’s temple. Colby’s eyes fell shut, and he whispered a single word quiet enough that Sam couldn’t understand it.

Sam’s eyes closed when Colby opened his. Sam’s knees suddenly buckled, and he collapsed.

“Damn,” Colby whispered proudly as he scooped Sam into his arms, “I’m getting good at this.” He’d only tried that spell once before on Jake, and it only worked halfway. Jake had been half asleep, eyes wide but movements sluggish. Colby was worried for a few hours until Jake woke up feeling fine.

Ever since Colby started practicing witchcraft a year earlier, Jake had been his test subject. Oh, but Jake didn’t know that.

Colby laid Sam down on their bed and draped the covers over his shoulders. Then, he climbed on the other side. He wrapped Sam in a protective embrace, and sleep found him quickly.

•••••

Sam woke the next morning feeling refreshed and at ease, which was definitely a first.

The apartment was cold when he rolled out of bed, so he grabbed Colby’s hoodie tossed on the dresser and exited his room.

Colby was stretched across the couch with a bowl of cereal in his hands as he watched reruns of Spongebob.

“Morning,” Sam called as he walked to the kitchen. He stopped just past the fridge and inhaled deeply through his nose. There was a familiar aroma wafting through their home, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.

“It’s sage,” Colby explained as he walked past Sam. He placed his bowl in the sink and turned to his boyfriend. “I’m not saying there’s anything in here, but in case there was, it’s cleansed now.”

Sam smiled. “Thanks.”

“You don’t have to thank me, Sammy. Anything to make you feel safer here, I’ll do it.” Colby cupped Sam’s cheek in his hands and kissed him softly.

“I love you,” Sam whispered.

Colby kissed his hair. “I love you too.”


	2. welcome to the neighborhood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Colby practices a new spell, and they meet their enchanting neighbors.

Colby’s eyes fell shut.

He was in their room, blinds drawn and lights out. There were candles surrounding him, two on each side and one in the front. Only the one in front of him didn’t have a flame.

Colby could hear the TV on in the other room, and the oven beeped a moment later. Sam must’ve been making himself lunch. The noises were faint, but they cut through the bedroom’s silence with ease. Colby squeezed his eyes shut and forced the distractions out of his head.

He sat with his legs crossed just in front of their bed. Outside of the half circle he’d created with candles laid an opened book with a leather back and pages filled with cursive. An internet friend he’d been talking to ever since he got into witchcraft sent him her Book of Shadows to practice with. 

Every day, he tried a new spell in a new element. He worked with simple ones that he could master in a few hours. Today was fire.

The book told him to absorb the heat radiating off the other candles as he imagined a burning wick. He had to feel the fire sinking into his skin and boiling the blood in his veins.

Colby’s palms began to sweat. 

It told him to imagine a flame flickering to life at the end of the wick like a sparkler. Imagine the fire engulfing the wick and melting the wax. Imagine how easy it would be to just…

Colby blindly raised his hand in front of his face, and he snapped his fingers.

The noise echoed in the room, but it was drowned out by the whoosh of a flame coming to life. 

“Whoa,” someone whispered in front of Colby, and the brunet’s eyes snapped open with a gasp.

Sam stood in the doorway. Colby couldn’t see his face because of the light behind him, but he could imagine the blond looking apologetic and guilty.

“Sorry,” Sam whispered. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“It’s okay,” Colby promised. “I was just about done anyways.”

Sam stepped into the room and sat in front of the candle Colby just lit with his mind.

“You’re getting better at this.”

“I know.” Colby couldn’t keep the eager grin off his face.

“This is great; next time we have a bonfire, we won’t have to grab a lighter!”

Colby chuckled flatly. “I’m glad your priorities are in check.”

“What’s that?” Sam asked, pointing to the tattered book laying open to his left.

“It’s a Book of Shadows. In other words, a spell book.” Colby leaned over the candles and grabbed the book. “It belongs to my internet friend. She’s been letting me borrow it for a year…” He frowned. “I wonder if she forgot about it.”

Sam snorted. “You stole her book.”

“No, I didn’t!” Colby laughed. “She gave it to me.”

The oven timer went off in the kitchen. Now that the door was open, Colby could smell the familiar scent of a frozen pizza.

“Oh, I made pizza,” Sam announced as he climbed to his feet.

“I can smell that. Better get them out before they burn.” Colby made a face before blowing out a candle. “That would suck.”

“You should have a spell that saves burnt food,” Sam called as he walked back down the hallway.

“Yeah, I’ll work on that!” Colby chuckled.

When Colby cleaned up and joined Sam in the kitchen, there were two plates fixed with pizzas waiting for them on the counter. Sam was reaching into a cabinet next to the fridge for two glasses.

Colby placed a hand on Sam’s back as he stepped around his boyfriend to reach a drawer.

“Excuse me,” Colby muttered as he gently tugged on Sam’s shirt, pulling him out of the path of the drawer. He grabbed the pizza cutter and turned to work on his meal.

“So, I got an email from a guy who works at the Horton Grand Hotel in San Diego,” Sam began as he filled his cup with water from the fridge. “He gave me some background and wondered if we’d like to film a video there.”

“Is it haunted?”

“Obviously.”

Sam grabbed his drink and sat at the bar. Colby left the pizza cutter on the counter, then he turned and filled his own glass.

Colby didn’t say anything, so Sam continued, “We have to tell Jake and Corey about it later.”

“Yeah,” Colby hummed as he sat next to Sam. He rested his chin in his hand and looked at his boyfriend. “You sure you’re up to this?”

“Mmhm.” Sam bit into a pizza slice, chewed, and swallowed. “I’ll be fine.”

“Tell me if you’re not.”

“I will, promise.”

Colby glanced at the sigil on the doorframe. “So, when do we leave?”

“Friday. There are a few rooms that are more haunted than others. Taylor, that guy I was emailing, let me book room 309. It’s the most famous, but not the most dangerous.”

“There are more dangerous rooms?”

“Two of them have poltergeists, or so they say.”

Colby’s eyes widened. “Uh… You’re sure you want to go here?”

Sam nodded. “Yeah. I don’t know why, but…” His eyebrows furrowed. “I kind of feel like I need to.”

“Fine,” Colby sighed, “but we’re leaving if things get bad. No one said we had to stay the night.”

“Deal.”

After that, their conversation shifted to more lighthearted topics like funny videos they found on Instagram. They spent the next hour enjoying their food and the other’s company. Having alone time was one thing they’d secretly missed while living in the Trap House. Don’t get them wrong, their roommates were awesome but finding more than ten minutes alone happened less often than they would’ve liked.

When they’d finished eating, Colby put the dishes in the sink while Sam headed for the couch. They planned on spending the rest of their day watching Netflix shows. 

Sam barely made it two steps before there was a knock at their door. He made a sharp left and circled back to answer it.

He’d been expecting Jake to be waiting for him in the hallway, but to Sam’s surprise, it was a set of strangers he’d never met before.

“Uh, hi,” Sam greeted with a polite smile.

“Hello, I’m Casey Claiborne, and this is my wife Hailey,” the man replied. He had a deep voice that matched his towering figure and short black hair. He jabbed his thumb over his shoulder and added, “We live right across the hall.”

“We just thought we’d come over, introduce ourselves, and welcome you to the building!” Hailey explained. She was a foot shorter than her husband, and her hair was long and white as snow. In her hands was a dish covered in aluminum. “I made you brownies with no nuts or gluten because I wasn’t sure.”

“That’s so nice of you, thanks. I’m Sam, by the way.” Sam stepped to the side and waved his hand. “Please come in.”

Colby was leaning the stove with his phone in his hands, responding to a text from Brennan. When he heard Sam invite the guests in, he pocketed his phone and pushed off the stove.

Suddenly, his vision blurred. Colby stumbled forward and caught himself on the bar. His head was spinning. There was a faint metallic smell in the air that hadn’t been there ten seconds ago. Colby’s eyes darted around the room, searching for a source.

He didn’t find anything out of the ordinary except for a couple taking a seat on his couch.

“Colby?” Sam called as he walked around the bar. “Colby, hey, what’s wrong?” He grabbed Colby’s arm in one hand and his face in the other. Sam gently dragged his thumb across Colby’s cheek when his boyfriend’s eyes squeezed shut.

“Head hurts,” Colby mumbled.

“Are you sick?” Sam released Colby’s arm and pressed the back of his hand to Colby’s forehead. “You don’t feel warm.”

“I’m fine, just got a little dizzy.”

“That doesn’t sound fine.”

Colby’s eyes drifted to the couple sitting on their couch. “Who’re they?”

“Our neighbors. Colby seriously, what happened? What’s going on?” Sam forced Colby to look at him, and he searched Colby’s face pleadingly.

Colby sighed. “I don’t know,” he admitted quietly. “Whatever it was, it passed. I’m okay.” He kissed Sam’s forehead for the extra reassurance. Then, he walked into the living room.

“Hi,” he greeted with the best smile he could manage. There was still a throbbing in his head, not as strong as a minute earlier, but powerful enough to be noticeable. “I’m Colby, Sam’s boyfriend.” There was something off about this couple, he knew it. Though, he wasn’t sure what it was exactly.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Hailey, and this is my husband Casey,” Hailey replied. She leaned toward the brownies sitting on the coffee table and peeled back the aluminum. “I made brownies as a house warming gift. Please, try one.”

Well damn, he can’t turn down free food. Especially not _brownies_.

Sam sat on the couch a few feet from Casey. Colby took the space between Sam and their neighbors because fuck letting Sam be that close to these people. If they turned out to be crazy or something, Colby wanted to make sure they had to deal with him first.

“So,” Casey began as he watched Sam grab two brownies, “what do you two do for a living?”

Sam handed a brownie to Colby before answering. “We make videos on YouTube.”

Hailey hummed. “Interesting. What kind of videos do you make?”

“Exploration videos mostly, but we vlog and do other stuff on the side.”

Sam glanced at Colby briefly before doing a double take. Colby was watching the pair with narrowed eyes. Sam nudged his arm and shot him a confused look. Colby saw the look from the corner of his eye and ignored it, but he did take Sam’s hand in his.

“What about you?” Colby replied. He interlocked his fingers with Sam’s while never taking his eye off his neighbors. There was a heavy feeling in his gut that something wasn’t right about all of this.

“Well, by day we have uneventful office jobs that pay us enough to live off of,” Casey answered casually, “but by night, we are the leaders of one of the most highly ranked covens in Los Angeles.”

Sam frowned. “Covens?” He glanced from Colby to his neighbors. “Like witches? You guys are witches?”

Casey raised an eyebrow. “Either the magical energies we’ve been sensing from this apartment don’t belong to you, or you’re awful at being inconspicuous.”

It was a bit of both, honestly. Ever since Sam gained his Sight, his friends swore he was possessed. Even Colby began to question it after a while (which was what led to Sam eventually coming clean). He’d tried keeping his ability to himself, but maybe staring at ghosts and demons (which were just blank spaces to his friends) fearfully wasn’t the best way to go about it.

Sam looked at Colby. He didn’t want to out his boyfriend, but there didn’t sound like a way to get around it. These people were magic, and they knew at least one of the boys were as well.

“It’s me,” Colby answered, raising his chin. “Is there a problem?”

“We have a strict rule against freelance magic. I understand you’re a level one witch, so I’m going to give you a chance here. Join our coven, and we’ll train you to wield your magic properly.”

“If I join, I’ll have to follow your rules?”

Casey nodded. “Naturally.”

Sam and Colby looked at each other, and they seemed to agree on the same thing: Colby wasn’t much of a fan of rules. 

But, Sam wanted to protest, if these people could help him grasp magic better, then maybe he should—

“No thanks,” Colby answered. “Magic’s a thing I’ve kind of been doing on the side. I’m not really dedicated enough to train religiously.”

Hailey looked at her husband, shocked. They’d never received a _no_ from a witch before. With how popular and powerful their coven was, every person of magic in the city would be grateful to be offered a spot.

Casey’s eyes narrowed. “Excuse me?”

Colby shrugged. “I don’t perform dangerous magic anyways. It’s mostly just…” He squeezed Sam’s hand. “Calming and protective spells.”

Hailey forced a strained smile. “You still need to be in a coven, Colby. The witch community has rules and regulations against rogue magic users.”

“Then I’ll just stop using magic?”

Colby was making empty offers. He and Sam both knew he wouldn’t give up that easily.

Casey’s jaw clenched. “I’m giving you one last chance to change your mind. If you don’t, you’ll regret it.”

Colby scoffed. “You’re threatening me?”

“No. I’m warning you.”

“Colby…” Sam whispered. His stomach turned as he eyed the adults wearily.

“For the last time: No. I don’t want to join your coven.” Colby released Sam’s hand and stood. Sam followed his lead. “I’m going to have to ask you guys to leave, please.”

Casey and Hailey shared a look as they rose from the couch. Hailey offered a weak smile as her boyfriend stalked toward the door.

“It was lovely meeting you anyways,” she told them before chasing after her husband.

Colby followed them to the hallway. He waited until they were back in their apartment before shutting the door and locking it.

“Well,” Colby began as he turned around, “they were dicks.”

Sam took a deep breath and sat down again. “I feel like you shouldn’t have done that.”

Colby climbed over the back of the couch and settled next to Sam. “Eh, fuck them. They interrupted our Netflix time.” He grabbed the remote off the table and turned on the TV.

“You’re not the least bit worried about this? They sounded pretty serious about the rules.”

Colby shook his head. “No, I’ve read about the witch community rules. There’s a high council that oversees all of the covens in the world, and they only give a shit if a rogue witch is performing magic that either A) endangers themselves or others or B) involves black magic.”

“What falls into black magic?”

“Uh, I think it’s like resurrection spells or something to do with the dead.”

Sam hummed. His eyes fell to the dish still on their coffee table. “She left her brownies.”

“That’s fine; now we don’t have to make popcorn.”

“What’re the chances they’re like enchanted or something?”

“Do they taste weird?”

“Didn’t I give you one? Shouldn’t you know how it tastes?”

Colby frowned. Sam _did_ give him a brownie, but he never ate it. He scooted to the side and looked around. So, where did it go?

“Ew look, it’s smooshed in the couch!” Sam cried. He pointed to a flattened lump of chocolate and looked at Colby in disbelief. “You wasted a perfectly good brownie.”

“You shouldn’t have handed it to me while I was dealing with a potential threat. It was distracted.”

“You didn’t have to sit on it though!”

Colby chuckled. “It was an accident.”

“Yeah, well, now you can clean it up.” Sam jumped to his feet. “I’m going to grab some blankets.”

“Fine,” Colby sighed as he headed for the kitchen. He and Sam crossed paths, and he kissed Sam’s temple as he passed.

Sam disappeared into their bedroom, a light blush on his cheeks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, I went into this thinking that these chapters would be mostly short, but here we are, two chapters in and already nearly 4K words. I'm looking forward to writing the rest haha :)


	3. green-eyed monster

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam learns how Colby got into witchcraft, and Casey schemes ways to convince their young neighbor to convert.

“Aren’t witches like… Satan worshippers?”

Colby tilted his chin back and squinted up at his boyfriend.

Sam gasped. The hand that was combing through Colby’s hair stilled. “Are you going to start sacrificing animals at the Ritual Tunnel?”

“What?” Colby laughed. “No, fuck that. Most witches are Pagan… It’s more of an Earth religion.”

“Are you Pagan?”

“Uh… I don’t know right now.”

Sam resumed running his fingers through Colby’s hair. “How’d you get into it?”

“I’ve always been interested in it, but Brennan actually got me started.”

“Brennan?” Sam frowned.

“Mmhm. He’d mentioned burning sage once after playing with an Ouija board, and after I asked him about it, he admitted that he’s been practicing for a while. Two years now.”

“Huh.” Sam could feel that familiar burning jealously in his stomach that always happened when Colby was with Brennan. Even though Sam had come to terms that he couldn’t keep Colby to himself forever, and he was actually friends with Brennan now, there was still an inkling of envy that made his face hot any time Brennan managed to steal Colby away for something.

Sam toward the window, and he tried to ignore the fact that _Brennan_ had been in on Colby’s secret since day one, while Sam only _just_ found out.

The sun was shining, though it never stopped in Los Angeles. It was probably warm out there. A flock of birds flew over the building across the street. A car honked out of the picture. What were they doing inside?

“Let’s go get ice cream.”

The corner of Colby’s lip raised. “Right now?”

“Yeah. Let’s see if Jake wants to come too.”

“Okay, cool.” Colby pushed himself up, grabbed his phone off the bedside table, and laid down with his head back on Sam’s lap.

“Tell him we’re leaving now,” Sam instructed as he watched Colby type, “so he doesn’t have time to mess around.”

Jake responded a few minutes later, agreeing to join them. Sam and Colby grabbed their shoes and wallets, Colby snatched his keys off the hook by the door, and they stepped into the hallway.

At the same time, Hailey Claiborne was returning to her apartment. She had a hefty stack of mail hugged to her chest, and she avoided eye contact with them.

Colby tugged Sam closer to him as they passed. Sam glanced over his shoulder, wondering how she was going to get inside with her hands full like that. If she and her husband hadn’t basically threatened Colby yesterday, maybe he would’ve helped her.

Oh, but she didn’t need help. When she reached her door, she raised whatever fingers she could manage without dropping her mail, closed her eyes, and whispered a few words. The door popped open with a click.

Hailey stepped inside her apartment and kicked the door shut behind her, cutting off the male voices down the hallway.

“I don’t know Casey,” she sighed as she dropped the pile of mail onto the kitchen counter. “That boy seems like nothing more than a mortal.”

Casey sat in an arm chair next to the TV. He was watching a figure in the corner of the room, trapped by a salt circle.

“You haven’t given me a chance to prove it, love.” Sunlight poured into the apartment, and his eyes shone with shade of red darker than the creature he imprisoned in their living room.

“That boy has the Sight, and he’ll be the perfect bait in persuading Colby to join our coven.”


	4. the horton grand hotel || part one

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam, Colby, Corey, and Jake visit the Horton Grand Hotel.

The Horton Grand Hotel sat at the corner of busy streets in the bustling city of San Diego. It stood proudly at three stories with a shiny front face decorated with Victorian styled bay windows and balconies. The front was royal blue, while the side facing the corner was a simple brick.

As the boys peered up at the magnificent building, excitement bubbled in their stomachs. No matter what they saw that night, no matter what they encountered or what may happen, this hotel was going to be an astounding experience.

An employee dressed in blue was there to greet and hold the door open for them. Upon stepping inside, the boys were welcomed by shiny floors and bright lights that made the lobby sparkle.

“Whoa,” Corey muttered, eyes wide in awe. “This is awesome.”

Jake looked over at Sam and Colby. “How old is this place?”

“There were originally two buildings built in the 19th century,” Colby answered as he adjusted the backpack straps on his shoulders, “but around the 1970s, they were reconstructed into one.”

Sam did his research on who might haunt the premises. Ever since he’d obtained his Sight, he’d been more thorough with investigating the supernatural history of locations they visited. Knowing what he might run into didn’t help ease his nerves at all, but at least he could be somewhat prepared for it.

“Holy shit,” Sam muttered as his mouth fell open in surprise. His eyes darted around the lobby; he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

One thing he’d found about the hotel was accounts from guests about ghostly figures roaming the floors wearing Victorian style clothing.

The second he stepped through the front doors, he saw them. All of them. There were about ten or fifteen transparent figures floating around the lobby dressed in hoop skirts or frock coats and vest. They were socializing like it was just another day in their lives. 

Sam wondered if they knew they were dead. He’d learned over the past six months that not realizing was kind of a common trend amongst spirits.

Corey gave Sam a weird look. “You all right, Sam?”

Sam turned to his friends, and his cheeks burned when he realized he’d been caught. He chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah,” he answered quickly. “This place is just… Amazing.”

Colby’s hand found his. “Let’s go check in, okay?”

Corey and Jake took the lead and left Sam and Colby behind.

“You good?” Colby asked softly.

“Yeah.” Sam scanned the lobby again. “I wish you could see this. There’s like… Fifteen people walking around here dressed in Victorian style clothing.” He leaned toward Colby and lowered his voice. “I don’t think they realize they’re dead.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

Sam shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe. It could be the reason they’re still here and haven’t moved on yet.”

Colby furrowed his eyebrows. “Are any of them evil?” He didn’t want to know the answer, but he needed to. It helped to know beforehand if there was something around that they shouldn’t mess with.

“I don’t think…” Sam’s eyes caught a woman in white staring at him from across the lobby. Chills ran down his spine when she smiled and vanished into thin air. No matter how many times he witnessed that, it still gave him the creeps.

“Sam.”

Colby hooked his finger beneath Sam’s chin and forced the smaller to look at him.

“I’m fine,” Sam reassured. “Really.”

“Yo Sam!” Corey called across the lobby. He ignored the disapproving glares from the other guests, but Sam glanced around and chuckled sheepishly. 

“Come check in; it’s under your name!”

“Okay, stop yelling!” Sam replied in a only a slightly quieter voice.

Colby raised the camera, so it was aimed at Sam. “You guys are going to get us kicked out before we even check in,” he muttered with a head shake. 

Sam grinned. He pecked Colby’s cheek and walked toward the counter.

“Now I have to cut that part out,” Colby whined. Then, he turned the camera toward himself and added, “Actually, no I don’t, ‘cause you guys are fucking awesome.” He winked.

Ever since they came out to the fans a few months earlier, they’ve received nothing but love and support. Of course, there have been a few negative responses here and there, but their fans quickly come to their defense. They were pretty cool like that.

Sam turned to Colby as he and the camera approached, and he introduced, “This is Taylor, he’s the manager of the hotel and the guy who suggested this place to me.”

Colby sat the camera on the counter and outstretched a hand to the man. “Hey, I’m Colby.”

Taylor was a man in his late twenties with bright red hair and pale skin. He reached over the counter and shook Colby’s hand, blue eyes shining under the lobby lights. 

“Nice to meet you,” he replied with a smile.

“Question, how haunted is the room we’re staying in?” Corey asked.

Colby picked up the camera, stepped around Sam, and filmed Corey. “What makes you think it’s haunted?” he teased.

“Because when we’re with you guys, it’s always haunted.”

Colby snickered. Jake pushed off the counter and stood next to Corey. He questioned, “How haunted are we talking? Like, Casper or a poltergeist?”

As this exchange happened, Sam drummed his fingers against the counter and waiting to finish checking in.

“So, here’s your room key, Wi-Fi password, passes for breakfast tomorrow,” Taylor explained. Before handing everything over though, he scribbled something on a Post-It. He stuck it to a key card and slid it across the counter.

Sam frowned. He turned the key card over and read whatever was on the back. His eyebrows furrowed.

**Dining lounge 3 AM**

“What’s—”

“Meet me there at that time.” Taylor glanced over Sam’s shoulder. “Come alone.”

Sam laughed nervously. “Uh… Look, you’re nice and all, but we only just met, and besides, I have a boyfriend—”

“Dude, yeah, don’t sweat it. I have a wife at home.” Taylor chuckled before his face fell serious. “Trust me though, I think you’ll want to hear this.”

Sam frowned. “Why do I have to come alone?”

“They wouldn’t understand.”

Sam was about to question further when he felt a hand on his waist. Colby leaned on the counter and asked, “So, are we good to go?”

“Uh, yeah.” Sam pocketed the note quickly. “Third floor; let’s go.”

“Let’s eat next,” Jake suggested. “There’s a restaurant here, right? I’m starving.”

“We just ate like two hours ago!” Sam cried.

“I’m still a growing boy Sam.”

Sam sighed, but he was smiling. “Okay, okay. Let’s put our stuff down and go grab some food.” He nodded goodbye to Taylor as Colby dragged him toward the elevator. He tried not to think about his secret meeting later.

•••••

Room 309 had a pair of queen beds with a balcony.

Colby panned around the room slowly while Sam began a short explanation. “According to the Internet, room 309 is home to a gambler named Roger. He was known for cheating in all the games, so he was shot and killed.”

“Oh, so it sounds like he had it coming,” Corey joked.

“Yeah!” Jake agreed. “Nice going, dickbag.”

A pillow suddenly rolled over on a bed next to Sam. The blond froze.

“Everybody cheated!” a man growled behind him. “I was just too good; they got jealous.”

Despite his dry throat and the fear making his stomach roll, Sam muttered, “You couldn’t have been _that_ good if you were caught.”

“What?” the man asked, and Corey echoed him.

Sam looked at his friends innocently. “Huh?”

Corey frowned. “I thought you said something.”

“No, uh, I was just…” Sam glanced at Colby. “I was singing a, uh, a song. It’s been stuck in my head.”

He could feel eyes on his back. The man was right there, close enough to touch. Sam felt a shudder run down his spine.

Then, cold fingers wrapped around his arm, and Sam jolted forward. His friends watched him with wide eyes and bombarded him with frantic questions.

Colby lowered the camera to his hip as Sam made his way toward him. “What’s wrong?” Colby asked quietly. “What’s wrong?”

Sam turned to his friends, and he laughed because it was the only thing he could do. He couldn’t give away that he could see the spirit. That would only tempt the gambler to mess with him more.

“I got like a cold chill or something,” he explained with a breathless chuckle.

“Are you serious?” Corey questioned; his eyes were the size of golf balls.

“Yeah, but look,” Sam was grateful to actually see an air duct above one of the beds. “It was probably just the air conditioning.”

Corey’s laugh gave away his nerves. He turned in a circle slowly as if scoping out the room.

“I hope so,” he admitted as he wiped his forehead with the back of his hand.

“Let’s go get something to eat,” Colby suggested. 

Jake nodded enthusiastically. “I’m down; let’s go.”

Sam could feel his friends staring at him as he followed Jake into the hallway. He ignored the not-so-casual worried glance he received from Jake and the whispers obviously directed at him from behind.

He clenched his jaw and rubbed a hand across his face as he stormed down the hallway. Sam mentally kicked himself. That was a bad move; all of it. He shouldn’t have responded, shouldn’t have given anybody a reason to question him. Corey already had a lowkey suspicion that Sam was possessed, and that probably helped his case.

The moment Sam stepped into the elevator and the doors shut behind him, he pressed his back into the wall, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. No more talking to ghosts, he decided. Don’t look at them. Don’t talk to them. _Ignore them_.

That had always been the plan from the beginning. Ignore them and maybe, maybe they won’t realize he has the Sight. However, ignoring them was easier said than done. Although Sam was scared out of his wits every time he encountered a supernatural being, he couldn’t help being _fascinated_ by them. Before, he just wanted to know if there was something more out there, beyond the life he knew. Now though, now that he’s made contact and can actually see them, his curiosity has only grown. It was stronger now, sometimes too strong to beat.

The elevator doors slid open, and he pushed off the wall and continued to the lobby. He wished Corey and Jake weren’t there because, yeah, he loves his friends, but he needed to talk to someone who understood, or at least was in on it. He needed to talk to _Colby_.

The lobby was still crawling with ghosts, and Sam stared at his feet to keep from looking at them. A moment later, He heard Corey’s laugh echo throughout the room, and Sam’s chest loosened at the idea that he wasn’t the topic of their conversation anymore.

“Hey,” Colby greeted softly when they approached. He lifted Sam’s chin and searched his eyes with furrowed eyebrows.

“Table for four, please,” Corey requested to the hostess.

“We can leave,” Colby whispered. “Just say the word, and we’ll go.”

“I’m okay,” Sam promised. “Really. I just…” He shrugged. “I made a mistake back there, but it won’t happen again.”

“Sam…”

“Hey,” Jake called, waving toward the couple, “c’mon, we’re being seated.” He glanced between the two before following Corey. Jake knew something was up, but it was something going on with Sam. So, he left solving the problem to Colby; he’s always been the best at it.

“What was the mistake?” Colby urged once they were alone. “Talk to me.”

“I don’t want them to think I’m, like, possessed or something.” Sam took a deep breath and played with his hands. “Corey probably already thinks that, though.”

“No babe, it’s not like that. Corey is just freaked out by whatever happened in the hotel room. Honestly, it has nothing to do with you.”

Sam met Colby’s eyes. There was so much movement around them; shadows, mist, foggy clouds swept by them in cold bursts. A bustling community was passing right through them, and—

 _Ignore ignore ignore_.

“Really?” 

“Yeah.” Colby separated his hands and kissed his forehead. “He doesn’t suspect anything, I promise. Are you still good to stay here?”

Sam nodded slowly. He could make it a night. At least until 3 AM, right? He’d done this before, and he could do it again.

“C’mon,” Colby muttered as he wrapped an arm around Sam’s waist. “I’m actually pretty hungry.”

Sam chuckled. He and Colby headed into the restaurant to find their friends, and thankfully, there were no ghosts inside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so, i know this is & the next chapter is more sam-centered, but i kind of needed this to set up for his book. i promise after this trip, this will focus more on colby. he's got a lot of things coming for him soon lol. sorry it took me a second to upload. i just got back from a vacation yesterday & i spent today sleeping off the jet lag. anyways, hope you enjoyed :)


	5. the horton grand hotel || part two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam meets with Taylor, and he learns a different perspective on the new life he's living.

After they finished eating dinner, the four boys explored the hotel. They roamed the hallways for an hour, scoping out unlocked doors that led to random rooms and discreetly searching the main floor for anything suspicious.

They poked around for a moment until Jake discovered a pair of glass double doors leading into a large dark room. As they stepped inside, Colby and Jake fished their phones out of their pockets to provide flashlights. However, after shuffling a few inches into the room, the lights lining the walls flickered on simultaneously.

They froze.

Sam waited a moment before whispering, “You think they’re motion censored?” 

“Maybe,” Colby reasoned, scratching his chin, “but isn’t that kind of weird for an old hotel like this?”

Jake shrugged. “They had to go modern sometime, dude.”

Sam looked around the room, searching for a source behind the lights. There was nothing, though. Maybe Jake was right; the hotel just updated their electrical system.

They stood at the edge of a dining area dotted with tables covered in white table cloth. Cushioned chairs circled the tables, eight at each. There was a short glass bowl at each tabletop filled with a few clear pebbles and stuffed with fake flowers.

Suddenly, Corey shuddered. His eyes nearly popped out of his head as he gasped and stumbled into a table.

“Whoa Corey, what happened?” Colby demanded. He reached a hand out to grab Corey’s shoulder and steady him. “You good man?”

“I just got a cold chill, like you did upstairs!” Corey cried, pointing at Sam. “Except it like… Like passed through me.”

Colby pocketed his phone and looked around. Something felt off, he knew it. There were eyes definitely on his back, watching. Stalking. “This room feels weird, right?”

“Yeah, no shit. This whole place is weird!” Corey turned to Sam and Jake. “Do you guys feel it too? Like there’s something watching us?”

Jake shrugged. “I feel something, but I don’t think it’s bad. Honestly bro, and this is gonna sound weird, but it feels kind of…”

“Friendly,” Sam finished. He and Jake nodded at each other.

“Yeah, like maybe that cold chill was just a ghost saying hey.”

“I remember reading something about a brothel that used to be on this lot,” Sam began, as he glanced around the room again. There was a white glow in a back corner, hovering in one spot just in front of a doorway. Could that be whatever just spooked Corey?

“What about it?” Corey asked.

“The owner was Ida Bailey.”

Colby frowned. “Isn’t that the name of the restaurant in the hotel?” Sam nodded. “Does she haunt this place too?”

“Yeah, I think so. Nobody’s seen her, but they have seen white mist or felt cold chills,” Sam nodded toward Corey, “with a sense of comfort or kindness.”

“So, Ida Bailey was just inside of you,” Jake joked.

“Men have become crude and immature over the decades,” a woman commented beside Sam. The blond jumped and nearly dropped the camera. He eyed his friends (thankfully, they were too busy cracking jokes) before turning to whoever just spoke.

She was a beautiful dark skinned woman dressed in a white corset dress that flared around the waist. Her black hair was long and fell down her back in waves. She sat at the table a few feet next to Sam, slumped against the chair with her head resting in her hand as she watched his friends be idiots.

Sam gnawed on his lip. He shifted away and gripped the camera tighter. Ignore, he stressed in his head. Sam opened his mouth to suggest they had back upstairs, but she cut him off.

“Good god,” she breathed, eyes widening, “what’s wrong with their hair? His is blue!”

Sam couldn’t help but smile a tiny bit. He couldn’t believe he was listening to someone clearly not from this century trying to comprehend Colby’s hair choices. It was surreal.

Maybe, just this once, maybe he could tweak his rules a tiny bit. Don’t talk too much, but surely, he can help shed some light for this confused woman.

“Actually,” Sam replied softly, shuffling toward her to speak easier, “it’s kind of a trend these days.”

The woman tilted her chin back and looked at him thoughtfully. She wasn’t shocked, like he had been expecting. Instead, she was intrigued. Her eyes narrowed, and she hummed.

“You can see me too, hm?”

Sam frowned. _Too?_ Who else could see her? “Uh, yeah. Can I ask your name? Or what happened to you here?”

She sighed. “My name is America, and don’t laugh about it!” Sam nodded, even though he wasn’t laughing in the first place. “I believe my mother was just a bit too excited about finally reaching this land.” She pressed her lips together. “I was murdered during my second night in this dining room by a white man who’d drank too much and didn’t appreciate my being here.”

America drummed her fingers on the tabletop. “I remember a waitress who’d been working that night try to call for help, but… Nobody cared about a black woman bleeding out on the dining room floor.” Her voice was faltering. “I believe I’ve been forgotten by now.”

Her despair rolled off in waves. It made him angry. How could you just leave somebody to die? Because of their skin color?

Sam clenched his jaw. He glanced at the camera in his hands, and an idea popped in his head.

“Hey guys, um,” Sam called, raising his voice to draw their attention, “I actually remember a story about this room.”

“Seriously?” Corey asked, and he paled just a bit.

“Yeah. There was a woman named America… Uh… Dang, what was her last name?” He glanced to the side like he was trying to remember. He caught her gaze and raised an eyebrow.

This time when she looked at him, there was a hint of shock in her eyes. “Jones. America Jones.”

“America Jones!” Sam declared. “That was it, right. So, anyways, America was shot and killed in this room by a drunk white man. A waitress tried to get help, but it didn’t arrive in time. She bled out.”

“That’s awful,” Corey replied solemnly. Jake shook his head; his displeasure to the story was clear on his face.

Colby pulled his lip between his teeth as his gaze drifted to that spot next to Sam. Sam would’ve mentioned this to Colby beforehand when they were sharing the research they found on the site, but there had been nothing about the dining room. That meant America Jones was sitting right there, feeding this information to him. That sent a chill up Colby’s spine.

Then, something weird happened. Yeah, weirder than watching his best friend interact with air. It was actually what happened while Sam interacted with air. His eyes, and, mind you, Colby could just be seeing things, had a red tint to them. It wasn’t enough to drown out the blue, but it was enough to shine beneath the dining room lights and be noticeable.

Colby looked at Jake and Corey, searching for any sign that they’d caught what he did. Thankfully, neither noticed yet. Maybe he can keep it that way.

“Let’s head back upstairs,” Colby suggested as he yawned. “I’m tired.”

“ _You’re_ tired?” Sam asked incredulously. “It’s like midnight; since when are you tired at _midnight??_ ”

Colby chuckled and rolled his eyes. “Dude, that drive was really fucking long.”

Jake raised his hand. “Uhh I’m down to sleep.”

“Okay, but we’re getting up at 3 AM,” Sam declared as they headed for the door.

“Don’t tell me you brought an Ouija board,” Corey groaned.

Sam turned to him and smiled. “I didn’t bring an Ouija board.”

“Why doesn’t that make me feel any better?”

“Because look at those beady eyes.” Jake poked Sam’s cheek. “He’s got something else planned.”

“We’ll show you when we get upstairs. You’re gonna love it, Corey,” Colby said with a grin.

“Oh god.”

•••••

The armoire door was open when they returned to the room.

Corey, of course, noticed it first. He pointed to the armoire and stared at his friends with his jaw dropped. “Why is that open?!” he demanded.

Sam frowned. “Uh… Did someone leave it open?”

“I didn’t even notice that earlier,” Jake admitted.

“I haven’t gone near it,” Colby declared.

“Guys.” Corey looked from his friends to the furniture and back to his friends. “Guys _why is it fucking open?!_ ”

“What’s the story on this room?” Colby asked, turning to Sam. “Does it include the wardrobe?”

Sam opened his mouth and closed it. “Actually, yeah. It does.”

“Of fucking course it does,” Corey muttered.

“I think Roger like hid inside or something when whoever killed him came after him, and they shot him while he was inside.”

“Shit,” Jake mumbled. He leaned toward the wardrobe and pushed the door shut. It bounced back open, but only a bit.

“I don’t want to stay here,” Corey whined. “Let’s leave.”

Sam shook his head. “You made it through the Queen Mary, but now you’re letting a door scare you?”

Corey huffed. He didn’t have a good answer to that.

“Nothing bad has actually happened yet,” Colby tried reasoning, “so I say we go to sleep now, get up at 3 AM to do the séance, then we can go home. Cool?”

“I’m not doing a séance.”

“It’s an occupational hazard, Corey,” Jake declared as he kicked his shoes off. “I call this bed!” He hopped on the bed next to the window and curled into a ball around a pillow clutched to his chest.

The others followed suit. After a few minutes of getting ready for bed, they finally laid down and turned the lights off.

Sam set his phone for 3 AM. He was getting up no matter what, but should he meet with a guy he literally just met alone, or should he stay with his friends and summon something potentially dangerous to add to their collection of demons that haunt them?

God, what a life.

Although, he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t intrigued by whatever Taylor wanted to talk about. What could they discuss that had to stay between them? That Sam’s friends ‘wouldn’t understand?’ It was already eating at him.

That would be something to decide when he woke up. Sam locked his phone just as Colby rolled over. The brunet pulled him close to his chest and nuzzled his face into Sam’s neck.

“Goodnight,” Colby whispered.

The hot breath on Sam’s ear made him shudder. He pressed further into Colby and replied softly, “Goodnight.”

•••••

Sam jolted awake three hours later, startled by his phone vibrating and an alarm blaring in his ear. He reached forward, quickly shut it off, and waited a moment. He listened for movement behind him. Did he wake anybody else up?

After a few minutes of silence, Sam decided the others were still asleep. Now, he needed to make his decision. Does he meet with Taylor, or does he wake his friends and create the content his fans watched their videos for?

Oh, shit. He’d forgotten all about the video. Fuck, he couldn’t let down his fans. They loved this kind of stuff.

But, at the back of his mind, he needed to find out what Taylor wanted to talk about. This was probably his only chance, and he wouldn’t forget if he didn’t find out.

Maybe he could coerce Roger into flickering the lights or slamming the armoire door shut to make up for the séance. Ghosts love messing with people after all, right?

Right as Sam made his decision, a chill ran down his spine. There was something in the room with them. The temperature dropped, and Sam shivered. Colby subconsciously tightened his hold around Sam, and honestly, that alone almost made Sam abandon all of his plans and go back to sleep. In that moment, snuggled under the covers and locked in Colby’s protective grip, Sam was safe. Well, he at least felt safe, but that was enough. It was enough to make him think whoever was watching over them couldn’t touch him.

Then, “I know you’re awake.”

Sam’s eyes squeezed shut. He suddenly wished he was home, protected by the sigil Colby drew on their doorway that Sam didn’t completely believe in, but it was still a nice thought. He squeezed Colby’s arm and buried his face into his pillow.

Sam’s phone lit up and vibrated. He immediately lowered the brightness and dragged the phone to his face. It was an email from Taylor.

**Are you coming down? I really need to talk to you.**

Sam ignored the burst of cold air sweep over his shoulder as he quickly typed out a reply.

**_About what? I need to know._ **

Send, lock, wait. Waiting sucked.

A moment later, there was a response.

**The Sight.**

Well, damn it. Now Sam really had to go talk to this guy, which meant he really had to face Roger by himself.

Sam clenched his jaw. He took one deep breath, and then another. All he had to do was grab a key and make it to the door. 

Slowly, Sam lifted Colby’s arm off him. Just as he began to roll out of bed, Colby shifted and muttered something. Sam froze.

“Time get up?” Colby asked groggily. He lifted his head off the pillow, but his eyes were still shut.

“No,” Sam answered quickly. He kissed Colby’s temple and whispered, “I’m just running to the restroom. Go back to sleep.”

Colby’s head fell back onto the pillow. Sam waited a second, but Colby didn’t move again. Sam decided he’d fallen back asleep, and it was safe to move.

Sam stood and turned toward the rest of the room, and his stomach dropped. It was fucking dark, too dark to see. He grabbed his phone and fumbled to turn on the flashlight. Immediately, a pair of eyes stared back at him.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Roger hissed. Sam nearly fell into the wall.

“I-I, um…”

“Speak up!”

“I’m meeting a friend down-downstairs.”

“And you’re going to leave the rest of them up here?” Roger’s pale lips twisted into a grin. “With me?”

Sam’s stomach dropped. “Don’t, please don’t mess with them. They haven’t bothered you.”

“You all bothered me when you checked into my room!” Roger stormed forward, backing Sam against the wall. 

“How-How about a deal, huh? I’ll be back in like thirty minutes. When I get back, you can mess with them. Make the lights flicker or something. Just… Just don’t hurt them.”

Roger’s eyes narrowed. “Why the hell would you agree to that?”

“We’re here to look for paranormal proof.” Sam shrugged as his eyes fell to the ground. “Besides, uh,” he chuckled hysterically, “it’s kind of funny watching them freak out, isn’t it?”

The ghost stared for a moment. Sam avoided eye contact at all costs. 

Jake suddenly farted, and Sam was more grateful than he ever imagined he’d be. It reminded him that he was still with company; he wasn’t alone. That made his chest loosen a little.

“Fine,” Roger finally decided.

“Fine?” Sam repeated.

“Yeah. Go, before I change my mind.”

Sam scrambled away from the ghost. He grabbed a key card lying next to the TV and headed for the door. 

As he walked toward the elevator, he questioned what just happened. Why was that so easy? Sam hadn’t made a deal with a ghost before, but he never imagined it being that simple.

Shit, what if Sam just left his friends to die or something? What if Roger didn’t keep up his end of the deal, and Sam returned to one of his friends possessed or hurt?

Wait, but, Colby was a fucking witch. Or warlock. He was something with magical abilities. Surely, he had a spell or sigil to ward off evil spirits like that.

Sam stepped into the elevator hesitantly. Colby could protect them, he reassured himself. He’d been studying spells and witchcraft for a year. He could light a candle with the snap of his fingers. He could put Sam to sleep even after the worst nightmare. If anybody could protect them, Colby could.

•••••

Taylor was sitting in the middle of the dining room when Sam arrived. Only a few lights were on, just enough to see.

“Hey,” Sam called as he stepped inside.

“Hey,” Taylor replied. “Shut the door, will you?”

Sam shut the door slowly. He sent a quick text to Colby about his location. He’d have a lot of explaining to do later, but at least Colby knew where to look if they woke up in the morning and Sam wasn’t back yet.

“So, uh,” Sam walked around the tables hesitantly, “how do you know about the Sight?”

“How else?” Taylor shrugged. “I’ve had it for ten years.”

Sam’s mouth fell open. “That… That sucks, man.”

“Not really. When I saw the video of you breaking all of the Ouija board’s rules, I figured you would’ve gotten the Sight not long after.”

Sam took a seat across from Taylor. He played with his fingers and nodded. “Actually, no. I was up all night puking, so I think that was just a warning. I’ve only had it for six months. I don’t know really what set it off, but it was probably playing with an Ouija board after demons told me not to or something. What about you?”

Taylor took a deep breath. “When I was sixteen, my friends thought it’d be cool to play on Halloween night in a cemetery.”

“Well damn, that’s one broken rule.”

“Yeah,” Taylor chuckled. “Anyways, I didn’t believe in that stuff. So, I didn’t take anything seriously. I disrespected it and whoever we were talking to.” He shrugged. “As you know, they don’t like that.”

“So, they’re kicking both of our asses huh?” Sam rubbed his face. “Did you think you were crazy at first?”

“Oh yeah. Absolutely. It was hell, too. My friends dropped me because they thought I was losing my mind. Things only went downhill from there. I got into some bad shit, and even tried to kill myself.”

“I can’t imagine.” Sam’s throat was dry. He didn’t want to imagine losing Colby over this. It would probably be enough to make him do things he’d regret, too.

Taylor scratched his ear. “I was so close, too. I remember that night so clearly. It was the middle of January, right in the dead of winter a few days after a really bad snowstorm. The main streets never stayed clear for long, so nobody was out. I had just climbed over a railing, ready to jump off a bridge and freeze to death in the river below. And then, somebody stopped me.

“Her name was Sarah. Her skin was as white as the snow, so I figured she was dead. She told me she jumped from that same bridge in the winter as well, only thirty years earlier. She talked me down and convinced me to keep going. Thanks to her, I found a woman I love and trust, and I couldn’t be happier.”

“That’s… Insane.”

“The Sight was obviously given to us as a punishment, but I think it can be a gift. I like to think of it as a superpower.”

Sam thought back to being cornered in his room ten minutes earlier. “Yeah… I have to disagree with that one. I don’t like being vulnerable to spirits.”

“Everybody is vulnerable to the supernatural, some more than others. You and I just have the ability to see them.”

“Which is better how?” Sam shook his head. “If they find out you can see and hear them, they become persistent and won’t leave you alone.”

“Right, but can you blame them? They’ve had to endure years of trying to reach out to people, only to have the living literally see right through them. Wouldn’t you jump at the chance to communicate with someone after your voice has been silenced for so long?”

Sam didn’t reply. Taylor surprisingly made a good point. He never thought someone could put the Sight into a different, brighter perspective. This certainly wasn’t how he expected this night to go.

“My favorite part about working here is talking to everybody, living and deceased.” Taylor’s eyes scanned the room, and Sam decided he should probably do the same. There were a few spirits floating around the tables, mostly minding their own business but glancing over every once and a while. Among them was America Jones, still sitting at the table Sam left her at earlier. Nobody would go near her.

“You can view the Sight however you want,” Taylor continued, leaning on the table and meeting Sam’s gaze. “I choose to see it as a chance to learn from the past. These people have stories, some of which have never been told to our world. Like America,” he pointed to her, “was murdered, and her family never knew.”

“Aren’t you ever scared of them?” Sam asked quietly.

Taylor nodded slowly. “Always. Especially the older ones. Have you ever encountered them?”

“Not since I’ve had the Sight, thankfully. I think I’ve encountered some older ones, though.” He thought back to the Queen Mary, and not for the first time, he thanked whoever was watching out for him that he didn’t have the Sight during that experience. There was no way Sam would’ve recovered if he’d seen the amount of demons in that room with them.

Taylor watched Sam for a moment. He poked his tongue against his cheek and sighed. “When you encounter an older one, and it will happen, don’t look them in the eye. Don’t question anything they say, but don’t trust them either.”

Sam gulped; his throat was painfully dry. “How many have you met?”

“One, and it was a brief meeting. There’s this guy who filled me in on everything like I’m doing for you, though. He’s a witch, and he has the Sight. I don’t know if you believe in witches, but they have this law against interacting and messing with demonic deities.”

“Is he in a coven? ‘Cause I hear those are really strict about rules.” Sam pushed back the urge to roll his eyes as he thought of Mr. and Mrs. Claiborne and their stupid regulations.

“He was, but after forcing a demon to give him the Sight and being outed for it, he was banished.”

“What? Wait, he forced a demon to give him the Sight? One, what the fuck, how did he manage that? Two, why the hell would he want to do that?!”

Taylor shrugged. “I only talked to him for like an hour, and he didn’t give me much information besides that. He stopped through here a few months ago; maybe he was on the run from his coven.”

“Do you have much experience with witches?”

“Other than dealing with their uptight asses with customer service?” Taylor scowled. “No. I think witches have a way of detecting power, whether its other magic or abilities like ours. Witches and seers tend to steer clear of each other.”

“Seers?”

“People with the demonic Sight.”

“You… Sure know a lot about this.”

Taylor shrugged. “Like I said, I’ve had it for ten years. My first year was spent searching for ways to get rid of it, and that led me to learn about stuff like this.”

Sam checked his phone. It was 3:25 AM. He was supposed to be back upstairs in five minutes to keep Roger from doing any real harm, but he could probably stay another ten minutes. After all, how was Roger supposed to know how long it had been?

•••••

Sam entered his room at 3:45 AM, and he froze. Colby was standing by the bathroom, camera in hand and filming. Corey was pressed against the wall by Colby’s bed, color drained from his face. Jake stood next to Colby, groggy and confused.

Corey turned to Sam and cried, “Where the hell have you been?!”

Sam stepped forward. He looked around, trying to piece together what happened. Corey and Jake’s bed was a mess with sheets ripped off the mattress. There were pillows thrown across the room, and the armoire was open again.

The blond glared at the ghost standing in the corner, watching everything unfold with a grin.

Roger shrugged. “You said half an hour. You were late.”

Colby grabbed Sam’s arm and pulled the blond behind him. No questions, no looks, nothing. It made Sam worry. Was Colby angry at him or something?

“What happened?” Sam demanded. He moved behind Colby to talk to his friends.

“The bed was shaking or something,” Jake explained, rubbing his eyes.

“ _The bed was shaking!_ ” Corey repeated, stressing each word. “And once Colby started recording, the armoire door opened and shut!”

Sam tried glaring at Roger again, but Colby blocked his view.

“By the way, where’d you go Sam?” Jake asked.

“I just went for a walk,” Sam explained carefully.

“Weren’t we supposed to wake up at 3 AM?” Corey raised an eyebrow. “I thought I heard your alarm go off.”

Sam looked to Colby for help, but the brunet shook his head and shrugged. Hey, if Sam wanted to sneak out without telling anybody (mainly his boyfriend), then he’d have to deal with the consequences.

“I, uh, I must’ve slept through it. I only woke up like fifteen minutes ago, and I couldn’t go back to sleep, so I went for a walk.”

Corey, Jake, and Colby shared a look.

Suddenly, the armoire door slammed shut. Corey’s body recoiled from the wardrobe, and he jumped into action. He grabbed his stuff, muttering about how he refused to spend another second in the room. The others followed his lead quickly.

Taylor clocked out after he and Sam finished talking, so he wasn’t there to bid the group farewell when they rushed out the front door.

As they headed to the car, Colby dragged Sam back, so they could talk.

“What were you doing in the dining room at 3 AM?” Colby demanded.

“I’ll explain when we get home.”

“No, explain now.”

“I can’t!” Sam nodded toward his friends.

Colby’s jaw clenched. “Why does it have to do with the Sight?”

“I’ll explain when we get home,” Sam repeated firmly. He wished he could tell Colby everything at that moment, especially because there was something off with him, and not knowing why Sam disappeared was probably the reason.

The drive back home was mostly silent. Corey didn’t drive since he was still spooked, so the other three switched off. By the time they arrived back in LA, they were practically dead. The last stretch from Corey’s apartment to the top floor of Sam, Colby, and Jake’s apartment building was long and tiring.

Colby would’ve totally fallen asleep on their couch when they entered had Sam not dragged him back to their bedroom.

“Tell me,” Colby ordered.

“I’ll tell you in the morning, I promise. We’re both exhausted.” Sam changed into a pair of sweats and a t shirt, then he crawled into bed and snuggled into his blankets.

“I was worried about you tonight,” Colby admitted as he pulled off his shirt. “We woke up to that dick spirit scaring Corey and Jake, and you weren’t there. It scared me.”

Sam sat up. Rocks of guilt made his stomach sink. “I’m sorry, baby. I didn’t mean to make you worry.”

“Just tell me why you were there at that time.” Colby didn’t want to think the worst, but he really couldn’t help it. His boyfriend had a demonic sight, and he disappeared at 3 AM (the devil’s hour) in a haunted hotel to a place where he was previously interacting with a ghost. You can’t really blame Colby for being suspicious.

Sam coaxed him into bed. Colby wrapped his arms around Sam’s waist and rested his head on Sam’s chest.

“So, Taylor, the guy I was emailing?”

“Yeah?”

“He has the Sight too. He’s had it for ten years, and he was just talking to me about it.”

“Why did he want to talk at that specific time?”

“I don’t know. He wanted me to come alone, so maybe he thought you guys would be asleep by then.”

“Why the hell would you go somewhere alone with a guy you don’t know? Geez, Sam.” Colby hugged Sam tighter.

Sam chuckled despite himself. “That’s why I texted you my location, just in case I didn’t show up the next morning.”

“Ha ha, yeah that’s so funny until it actually happens. Was it worth it, almost dying?”

“I didn’t almost die, but yeah, actually. I learned a lot. He had a different perspective on the Sight, something I never considered before. Hey, uh, somewhere in your readings or whatever, did you ever come across a guy who forced a demon to give him the Sight?”

“Who the fuck would be dumb enough to try that?” Colby laughed. “Nah, I haven’t heard of him. Why?”

“I don’t know. He was a witch with the Sight, which is apparently majorly taboo in the witch world. Actually, witches and seers interacting is apparently not common either.”

“Seers?”

“People with the Sight.”

“Oh cool, you have your own name.”

Sam snickered. “Now I can be one of the cool kids.” He brushed Colby’s bangs to the side. “You’re not mad, are you?”

“No.” Colby sighed. “There was just a lot of scary things happening at once, and I think I was overwhelmed. Speaking of, did you know your eyes glow red when you look at ghosts?”

Sam’s body tensed. “My what—Wait, what?!” He sat up straighter, and Colby took that as his cue to sit up as well.

“Yeah—Calm down.” Colby grabbed Sam’s hand.

“Calm down?! _My eyes glow red when I_ —Oh my god.”

“Shh, baby calm down. I promise it’s not as bad as you think. It’s just around the pupils, like it doesn’t even cover the blue.”

“But _you_ noticed. That means other people could have noticed, right?” Sam covered his face with his hands. “Oh my god, people could know!”

“Nobody knows! If it’s on any of the footage, we’ll edit it out. Nobody will know, I promise.”

Sam lowered his hands as a thought struck him. “Wait, is that why you—In the hotel room, when you pulled me to you? I thought I was in your way or something.”

“No,” Colby breathed a laugh and shook his head. “No, no, I was trying to keep Jake and Corey from seeing anything. I don’t know for sure if they could’ve, but better safe than sorry right?”

Sam took a deep breath. He grabbed Colby’s hand a played with the rings. “Thank you,” he mumbled. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Colby smiled. “I love you too.”

With the morning sun peeking through their blinds, they fell asleep in each other’s arms. Tomorrow, they’d have to jump right back into work and dealing with a threatening scheme from the Claiborne family. But for now, at least they could enjoy a day together.


	6. and the plot thickens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brennen teaches Colby higher level magic, and Sam runs into trouble in the apartment parking garage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ignore the chapter title please :')

“We’ll be back in a little bit,” Sam said as he slipped on his shoes. “You’re sure you don’t want to go?”

It was nearly four in the afternoon, and Jake wanted to go grocery shopping for something. There would probably be a video filmed along the way, and Colby really wasn’t in the mood to be on camera that day.

“Yeah, I’m sure. Bring me back some Chipotle though?” Colby requested. He rested his head on the back of the couch and grinned at Sam, who stood near the doorway.

“Fine,” Sam sighed, smiling. He grabbed his wallet and keys off the counter. “Bye!”

“Later,” Colby called.

The door shut, and Colby was left in silence. 

He checked his phone for a text from Brennen, and there was one from five minutes earlier. According to it, he was about five minutes away. So, Colby got up to grab a drink.

Brennen was coming to hangout mostly, but Colby was hopefully going to get some witchy information out of him. After meeting and being threatening by his pushy ass neighbors, Colby was feeling kind of questionable about his study of magic.

Colby had just opened a can of soda when there was a knock at his door. He walked around the counter, peeked through the peep hole (just to be sure; he wasn’t planning on speaking to any neighbors that day), and answered the door. Brennen stood in the hallway, leaning against the doorway with a smirk.

“Hey,” he greeted.

“Hey, what’s up?” Colby nodded inside, inviting Brennen in. He returned to the couch, and Brennen followed.

“I don’t think I’ve been here since you guys moved in.” Brennen turned in a circle slowly, examining the room. “Oh, you have a balcony? Sick, man.”

“Yeah, and check this out.” Colby cleared his throat and requested loudly, “Turn on colored lights.”

The regular lights immediately turned off and were replaced by pink neon. Brennen’s face lit up.

“Bro, that’s awesome! Was that Sam’s idea or yours?”

“Sam’s,” Colby snickered.

Brennen sat next to Colby. “That’s so cool!” His gaze fell to the Book of Shadows laying on the coffee table, and he reached for it. “Why hasn’t that girl asked for it back yet?”

Colby laughed. “I don’t know, honestly. Maybe she forgot about it.”

“Are you still—I mean, I guess you _are_ still practicing huh?”

“Yeah…”

Brennen looked up at Colby’s questionable response. “What’s up?”

“So, the people across the hall are a part of a coven. Actually, they’re the leaders of like a super powerful one in the LA area, and they asked me to join a few days ago. I refused, and I’m pretty sure they threatened me or something.”

“They can’t actually do anything if they don’t want the Council getting involved.”

“Yeah, but the Council won’t know right away. How much can they get away with before word gets out?”

Brennen frowned. “Do you think they’ll still try to pull something?”

“I don’t know, maybe? Regardless though, I don’t know if I want to keep doing this. I mean, how far do you plan to go?”

“I…” Brennen shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess until it stops being interesting to me? Are you thinking about quitting?”

“Maybe. I don’t want to join a coven, especially not theirs, and if that means I’m putting myself or Sam at risk, then maybe I should stop practicing.”

“No way! If anything, protecting yourself and Sam should be why you keep going. Do you know any defensive spells?”

Colby shook his head. “I’ve only been practicing with basic elementals.” Brennen flipped through the Book of Shadows. As he searched, Colby asked, 

“Are there any protective spells against, like, ghosts or demons?”

“Those Ouija board videos are finally getting to you, huh?” Brennen snickered. “Yeah, I’ve already passed a few in here. They’re for higher levels, though. Actually…” He flipped through a few pages. “ _All_ of these defensive spells are higher leveled.”

“Meaning what?”

“Meaning they’re going to be a little harder to perform…” Brennen grinned. “Good thing you have me to help you.”

Colby rolled his eyes. “Don’t think you’re any better than I am here; you’ve only been practicing a year longer.”

“But that makes me a level two, while you’re just a level one.”

“Hey, don’t rub it in.”

“Sorry, sorry.” Brennen laughed. He stopped on a page and pointed at a random spell. “Let’s try this one.”

“What is it?”

“A deflecting spell.”

Colby inhaled deeply. “Is it going to destroy anything?”

Brennen looked around. He pressed his lips together and decided carefully, “Maybe we should go outside.”

•••••

Two hours later, Jake was turning off his car in the parking garage. He turned to Sam, who had been in charge of the camera while they drove home.

“Yo, that worker was lowkey a bitch,” Jake muttered, snickering at Sam.

“In her defense, you _did_ run a cart into a shelf and knock everything down,” Sam reminded.

“You pushed me!”

Sam started to climb out of the car. “Mmm, I don’t remember that.”

“Liar!” Jake cried, and Sam snickered.

As Sam started walking around the car, a dark figure standing in the middle of the road caught his eye. The figure was tall and engulfed in a cloud of black mist. His face was unseen. Sam peeked at the camera screen, and his blood ran cold. There was nothing in the frame.

“He wants to talk to you,” the figure hissed. It took a daunting step forward; Sam’s face paled.

“Who?” Sam replied quietly.

The black mist began to swirl around Sam. It started as a light trickle, circling his ankles gently like a winter breeze. Then, it climbed his body, consuming him in an envelope of air that made his skin burn. It continued to rise, boiling every blood cell pumping through his body. Sweat rolled down his temple; Sam raised a hand to wipe his forehead.

“ _Who?_ ” Sam repeated. He tried to sound firmer, but his voice cracked under the pressure. 

The demon took another step forward. Now that it was inches away, Sam could see two shadowed red orbs floating where eyes should be. Sam swallowed his nerves and coughed; his throat was nearly too dry to breath properly.

Suddenly, “Yo, Sam!” Jake’s voice echoed throughout the parking garage. The sound of his car door slamming shut followed shortly after. “You left your food in here.”

As Jake approached, a strong gust of wind blew through the lot. The black mist followed, and the figure melted away as though it were never there.

Jake met Sam at the back of the car. “Here, trade me.” He grabbed the camera and offered the box of food.

Sam numbly took the food in his hands. He was still staring with wide eyes at the spot where the demon once stood. _An actual demon_.

Jake frowned. He grabbed Sam’s shoulder and asked, “Hey, you all right man?”

Sam blinked at the contact. He looked up at Jake absently. “Huh? I’m fine.”

“Okay… Then, let’s get going.” Jake gently tugged Sam toward the elevators. He kept a close eye on the blond, noting the weird behavior. Sam moved like he was in a trance, and he was breathing harder than normal.

Sam couldn’t shake the fact that he’d faced an actual demon. It was standing right in front of him, mere inches away. Sure, it wasn’t his first run in with the creatures. There was the Queen Mary experience, and just about every time they played with an Ouija board. But that was all pre-Sight. Sam had been careful about using the Ouija board post-Sight for this very reason. He’d been so cautious and wary about filming haunted videos nowadays because he wanted to avoid pissing off a spirit at all costs. Seeing ghosts was something he could eventually get used to, but fucking demons…

Jake held the door for Sam when they reached the cubicle where the elevators were. Inside was a snack and a soda machine. The lighting was dim; it always lowkey freaked Sam out to be in there at night waiting on an elevator.

Today, there was somebody else already waiting when they stepped inside. It was Casey Claiborne, and Sam’s eyes narrowed.

Either it was just a coincidence that Casey happened to be in the same place as a demon appearance, or something else was going on.

Casey turned to the boys. He smiled, outstretched his hands, and grabbed Jake’s head. The taller boy stopped in his tracks, and his face fell blank.

Jake’s camera nearly slipped from his grasp, but Sam caught it just in time.

“Take this elevator to your floor,” Casey ordered, and his eyes started to glow a faint yellow. “If you see any of your friends, don’t interact. You’re not going to speak of word of this to anyone.”

Right as he finished, an elevator door slid open and dinged. Casey released Jake and stepped away to let Jake pass.

Sam watched in disbelief as Jake stepped inside, pressed a button, and disappeared.

The silence and tension in the air was thick. Sam switched a shaky gaze to Casey, and his grip tightened on his box of food and Jake’s camera.

“Did you send that thing after me?” Sam demanded.

Casey feigned innocence. “What thing?”

Sam’s jaw clenched. “I think you know what thing.”

“Hmm… I summoned a demon to the parking garage as a test. Are you admitting to being able to see it?”

“Is it really that big of a deal if I am?”

Casey smirked. “You don’t realize how powerful, how sought after that ability is, do you?”

Sam shifted nervously. “This wouldn’t have anything to do with that crazy guy who forced a demon to give him the Sight, would it?”

“ _Marcus Pierce is not crazy_ ,” Casey hissed. “He has new ideas that the old traditions don’t approve of.”

“None of this explains why you sent a demon after me,” Sam snapped. He wanted this conversation to end already. Arguing with a witch alone and unarmed made him uneasy.

Keeping his eyes trained on Casey, Sam leaned toward the elevator and pressed the button. 

“To test you, of course! I had a feeling when we first entered your apartment that you had the Sight, but now I’m certain.”

“Why did you want to know so bad?”

“I want you to join my coven.”

“I don’t have magic.”

Casey smirked. “That’s not the kind of coven I’m talking about.”

The elevator dinged, and Sam exhaled with relief. He jumped inside and frantically pressed the ‘doors close’ button. Casey didn’t make any moves to join him, much to Sam’s relief.

“Oh,” Casey remembered just as the doors began to close. He stepped inside and reached for Sam’s face. Sam tried ducking away, but there wasn’t much space to maneuver and avoid.

The elevator doors shut as Casey pressed two dingers to Sam’s temples.

“You’re going to keep this conversation between us,” he commanded. “You won’t speak of it to anyone. In fact, you’re going to forget about it unless I bring it up to you. Understand?” Casey released Sam, who nodded absently.

Casey smiled. “Good.”

•••••

Colby returned home about an hour later feeling drained. He kicked his shoes off at the door and drug his feet to his room. The only reason he didn’t fall asleep on a park bench was because he was holding out for his comfy bed upstairs.

He and Brennen had been practicing defense spells all afternoon. Well, kind of. Half of the time was spent scrolling through social media and goofing off. Still, they did enough to completely exhaust Colby. Brennen took them to a hiking trail in the hills where he knew it would be secluded. Before they started, he warned performing higher level spells would require a ton of energy, but Colby underestimated how much it would _actually_ take. 

After an hour and a half of training, he was ready to sleep for twelve and a half more.

Sam was curled up in bed when Colby entered. He was facing Colby’s side, hugging a pillow to his chest and staring at a spot on the wall.

“Hi,” Colby mumbled, collapsing on the bed. He rolled over and took Sam’s hand in his. “When did you get home?”

“An hour ago,” Sam answered softly. “Where were you at?”

“Training with Brennen.”

“Training?”

Colby nodded, and it took everything in him to keep his eyes open. “Learning defense spells, so if one of those assholes from across the hall tries messing with one of us, I’ll be ready.”

Sam’s eyebrows furrowed as he played with Colby’s fingers. What happened earlier was still fresh in his mind. He saw an actual demon standing in front of him! It was still giving him chills. Sam couldn’t imagine sleeping well that night.

He opened his mouth to speak, ready to fill Colby in on what he saw, but a snore cut him off. The grip on Sam’s hand had fallen slack, and he knew Colby was out for the night. Sam smiled fondly. He leaned forward and kissed Colby’s forehead.

Colby tried reaching for him, but Sam leaned back. He felt a sense of déjà vu for some reason.

Sam carefully rolled out of bed and exited the room. He knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep, regardless of the time (it was only 8 PM; Colby would be awake in a few hours probably). He could vent to Colby later and maybe get some sleep that night.

Until then though, Sam planned on grabbing his computer and prepping their latest video for upload Sunday afternoon.

Whether he got any sleep that night or not, he knew it was going to be a long night.


	7. amateur tarot reading hour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Colby gives himself and Sam a tarot card reading.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i tried to find specific rules and such for tarot reading, but a lot of the information was confusing. so, i tried my best. i know that the meanings of the cards are not to be taken literally, but in this case... well, is it fake? is it real? who knows? ;)
> 
> also, if there is anybody out there who practices tarot, i am writing this from the perspective of a skeptic. their thoughts do not reflect mine :)

Sam yawned as he watched Colby open a deck of Tarot cards. They sat on the floor around their coffee table; it was almost noon. 

Sam woke before Colby, so the latter had no idea that Sam spent most of his night flipping through TV channels and surfing the web instead of sleeping. It was probably for the best; just thinking about the thing he saw yesterday made his skin crawl.

“So, how does this work again?” Sam questioned.

“If you have a specific question or concern, these cards are going to reveal some answers. Here, I’ll go first. I’m looking for answers about my career in magic. Is this something I’m going to continue doing? … Should I even continue doing it?”

Sam glanced up at him.

Colby spread the cards in a U shape across the table. Then, he mixed them all together. Sam wasn’t sure if that was actually how to do it or if Colby was just taking this route to prove that he didn’t know which order the cards would be in.

“Is this to be taken seriously?” Sam asked as Colby straightened out the cards into a stack again.

“It’s more of a guideline than anything. Nothing’s set in stone.”

Sam hummed thoughtfully. Colby held the deck in his hands and flipped over the card on top.

The card had a blue background with a gray cloud. Floating on the cloud were seven cups, each with an item inside. In front of the cups was a shadowed man with a hand outstretched toward the cloud.

“Seven of Cups,” Colby muttered. _Upright_ , he noted. 

“What does that mean?”

“I think it means I’ll have some choices to make.” Colby snickered as he unlocked his phone. He went to his Google app and typed in the card name. “I’m not an expert on what these mean yet.”

A minute later, Colby locked his phone with a nod. “The Seven of Cups symbolizes imagination, choice, wishful thinking, and illusion.”

“Sounds like you have to be careful of whatever choices you make,” Sam concluded.

“Yeah,” Colby chuckle. He drew another card and laid it next to the first.

This card had a white background with a cloud on the right side and a hand growing out it. Resting in the hand’s palm was a golden cup overflowing with water that ran down the sides and dripped into the pond dotted with lily pads below. Just above the cup was a cross enclosed in a circle, and above that was a white bird with its body aimed into the cup. 

“Ace of Cups.” _Upright_.

Colby typed in the card. “I need to listen to my inner voice and stay true to it.”

“Neither of these cards have been very helpful so far,” Sam pointed out and narrowed his eyes suspiciously. He could get on board with Colby performing elemental magic and snapping a fire onto a candle wick (only because he has actually seen it), but Tarot cards? There was no telling what was true and what was made up. The whole practice could be just a bunch of bullshit.

Colby ignored him and drew his last card. 

To Sam, the card was upright, and he could read ‘Page of Swords’ clearly. It was an image of a man standing on green grass in front of a blue sky dotted with clouds. The man had a sword raised over his shoulder, and he was looking at something out of picture.

“Page of Swords reversed.” Colby hummed. “Usually the reversals have a negative meaning.”

Sam’s eyes widened slightly. “What does this one mean?”

Colby searched and waited. He returned to the website he’d been using and scanned the article. “Deception and manipulation.”

“Like… Someone’s going to deceive you?”

“I guess so…”

Sam frowned, and he watched Colby furrow his eyebrows thoughtfully. Colby was actually believing some of this; Sam knew it.

“Hey, you said it yourself,” Sam reached forward and nudged Colby’s hand, “this stuff shouldn’t be taken seriously. Even if this is real, nothing’s set in stone.”

Colby smiled. “Yeah, you’re right. Does that mean you don’t want a reading next?”

Sam rolled his eyes. “Sure, whatever. What’s the harm, huh?”

As Colby gathered the cards, Sam gnawed on his lip. He knew wholeheartedly that the chances of any of these predictions coming true are a million to one. So, why did it make him nervous? 

“Okay, what would you like to know?”

Sam shrugged. “I don’t know, uh… Do I have a future with the Sight?” He grimaced. “Am I really going to have it for the rest of my life?”

“There has to be a way to get rid of it,” Colby reasoned as he spread out the cards in a U shape once more. “Maybe there’s a spell or something.”

“I think I’ll take my chances with the Sight.”

“You can shuffle this time. Don’t you trust me?” Colby smirked. 

“Sometimes.” Sam reached forward and messed up the U. He pushed and shoved the cards over and under each other for a few seconds before he gathered them back into a neat stack.

“By the way, why were you so tired last night?”

“I was out working on spellcasting with Brennen. Didn’t I tell you that?”

“Yeah, but you literally slept for fourteen hours, so…”

Colby blinked. “ _Fourteen hours_? Seriously?”

Sam nodded slowly. “I know you’re usually a heavy sleeper, but I threw water on your face, and you _still_ didn’t wake up.”

“Damn, Brennen said performing higher level spells would take energy, but I didn’t think it’d be _that_ much…”

Colby sat the stack on the table and turned the first card over.

Although Sam’s stomach jumped to his throat, he managed a shaky joke, “Nice to see us starting out on the right foot…”

The bottom of the card read five letters: DEATH.

It was an image of a skeleton wearing silver armor riding a white horse. At the horse feet, a king lay dead and a child sat on his knees, cowering in fear. 

In front of the horse was another ruler clad in a gold robe, pleading to the horseman.

Colby shook his head. “You’re right, this is dumb.” He reached forward to grab the card, but Sam caught his wrist.

“Keep going,” Sam requested. “I want to see where this goes.”

“You’re sure?”

Sam nodded. He released Colby’s hand and settled against the couch.

The next card showed two people, a man and a woman. They each held a golden cup in their hands and appeared to be reaching for each other. Above them was a symbol Sam and Colby didn’t recognize and a red lion’s head with wings sprouting out the sides.

“Two of Cups, upright. I’m pretty sure that means a partnership.” Colby double checked with a quick search. “Yeah, partnerships and unions are represented by Two of Cups. It’s usually interpreted to love, but it can be for anything involving two beings coming together.”

Sam’s eyebrows furrowed; this whole thing was confusing. “It can’t be talking about us, right? We’re already together. So, I’m going to make a new friend?” He grinned, and Colby laughed.

The third card made the hairs on the back of Sam's neck stand. Although it was upside down to him, it wasn't hard to read the upside down words printed in bold or make out what the picture meant. 

It was an image of man with claws for feet, an animal that neither recognized head, ram horns, and bat wings looming over his shoulders. Nestled in the crown of his head was a white reversed pentagram. At his feet was a man and a woman with horns and shackles around their necks.

At the bottom of the card: THE DEVIL.

Colby was quick to search up the meaning. It was reversed, which usually meant negative things, but not when the upright version is the literal devil.

“Oh hey, it’s not as bad as it looks.”

“It looks _pretty bad_ , Colby.” He couldn’t tear his eyes from the card. It reminded him of the figure he saw yesterday, and his stomach rolled.

“No, no, listen,” Colby reached over the table and grabbed Sam’s hand. “The reversed devil card symbolizes breaking free of entrapment and regaining control.”

Sam pushed the card away. He released Colby’s hand and climbed to his feet.

“This is crazy,” he mumbled.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Colby jumped up and tugged Sam to him. He cupped Sam’s face gently and searched his eyes. “C’mon, talk to me.”

“I don’t want to talk about it right now.” Sam took Colby’s hands in his. “Some other time, okay?”

Colby frowned. “Okay…” He shook his head. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have brought those cards out. If I had known, then—”

“Shh, it’s okay. You couldn’t have known.” Sam smiled, hoping to lighten the mood. “Let’s just forget about them. After all it’s just for fun, right?”

Colby nodded. He pressed a kiss to Sam’s mouth and let his lips linger. When he pulled away, he agreed, “Right.”


	8. tell me your worries and doubts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Colby has some concerns.

Later that day, Sam was struggling to keep his eyes open. His lack of sleep hit him hard around one in the afternoon, but he couldn’t take a nap for fear of seeing that _thing_ in his nightmares. So, he busied himself with making food that he wasn’t even hungry for and pacing while waiting for it to cook.

Colby noticed the weird behavior ever since he put the Tarot cards away. He worried Sam was still thinking about the reading, but when he asked, Sam swore he wasn’t concerned about it. That, of course, only made Colby more uneasy.

Sam was pacing in the small kitchen when Colby finally decided a confrontation was in order. He turned off the TV and walked toward the kitchen.

“Baby,” Colby sighed and leaned over the bar, “what’s going on with you?”

Sam paused. He dragged a hand down his face and sighed. “Okay, I—”

A knock on the door cut him off. They frowned at each other, and Colby pushed off the bar to answer the door. He stopped with his hand a few inches from the doorknob and checked the peep hole first. If it was his asshole neighbors, he definitely didn’t want to answer.

It wasn’t. To his relief, the only face he saw on the other side was Jake’s. Colby pulled open the door and grinned.

“Heeeey brotherrr.”

“What’s uppppp,” Jake replied as he pushed past Colby. “Hey Sam.”

“Yo.” Sam sat on a barstool. “What’s going on?”

“Do you have my camera? I can’t find it in my apartment or my car.”

Sam thought back to the day before. Why would he have Jake’s camera? He wracked his brain for anything other than seeing that thing in the parking lot. What happened _after_ he saw it?

Jake watched for a moment before he chuckled and added, “While you’re thinking about that, can you tell me what the hell happened yesterday?”

“What do you mean?” Colby asked.

“Dude,” Jake turned to Colby, “I don’t remember getting to my room yesterday. Like, the last thing I remember was Sam looking like he’d seen a ghost in the parking lot—” Colby’s gaze darted to Sam, and his eyes widened— “and then I woke up like an hour ago on my couch.”

“Oh yeah, you gave your camera to me,” Sam realized.

“Why?”

“Uh… I don’t know, man. You were pretty tired yesterday.” It was a weak lie, but Sam was distracted by a spec of memory he managed to resurface after seeing that _thing_. He saw Casey Claiborne’s face waiting in the parking lot for an elevator, or maybe he was waiting for _them_. He was the last thing Sam remembered seeing before he got into his apartment.

“Really?” Jake frowned. “I don’t remember being tired yesterday.”

Sam nodded and slid off the stool. “You probably don’t remember _because_ you were so tired.” He snickered.

“Probably…”

“I’ll go get your camera.”

Sam headed for the recording room where he knew Jake’s camera was sitting on a table. He left it there the night before with a confused frown, wondering how the hell he ended up with it in the first place. And the more Sam wondered what exactly happened during that gap in his memory, the more his head hurt. He wondered if there was magic involved.

Colby was a few steps behind, and he shut the door when he stepped into the room.

“Okay, what the hell?” he demanded.

“I don’t know,” Sam admitted softly. “I think Casey might’ve done something.”

“Casey fucking Claiborne?” Colby growled. “I’m going to kill him.”

Sam reached for the camera, sighed, and closed his eyes. His skull was pounding. Yeah, magic was definitely a factor.

Arms suddenly wrapped around his waist, and Colby’s chin rested on Sam’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry,” Colby whispered.

“What’re you sorry you?” Sam turned his head and kissed Colby’s temple.

“This is my fault.” Colby hugged him tighter. “If I hadn’t refused those jerks in the first place, this wouldn’t have happened.”

“No, Colby…” Sam turned in his arms. He reached a hand up and brushed Colby’s hair across his forehead. “Let me give Jake his camera, and then we can talk about this.”

“Way to ruin the moment,” Colby mumbled as he released Sam.

Sam chuckled. “Jake probably would’ve done it if I didn’t.”

Colby smiled weakly and stepped away to let Sam pass. He took a seat at the end of the couch against the wall and pulled his knees to his chest. In the other room, he heard Sam lead Jake to the door. 

A few moments later, the door shut, and soft footsteps retreated back to the recording room. Sam pushed the door shut behind him, peeked around the corner, and crawled onto the couch. Colby stretched out as Sam wrapped his arms around Colby’s waist. He sat up straighter against the wall while Sam laid his head on Colby’s chest.

“This isn’t your fault,” Sam began.

Colby hummed. “I disagree. Completely.”

“It’s _not_. It’s _their_ fault, not yours.”

“But if I had just agreed, none of this would be happening.”

“I still probably would’ve seen whatever I saw in the parking lot.”

“Are you going to talk about that?”

Sam didn’t respond at first. Colby stroked his arm softly.

“You know this place is safe.”

“I know.” Sam took a deep breath. “I think it was a demon.”

“What the fuck—”

“It had to be. It appeared out of nowhere in a dark cloud, and it had these red glowing eyes…” He didn’t want to mention how his stomach sickeningly churned when the demon stepped toward him. He didn’t want to think about how it felt like his blood was boiling or his skin was being peeled off or how his throat closed up as the demon tried to strangle him.

He nuzzled his cheek against Colby’s shirt, and he stared at a place across the room.

“In the parking garage? Why the fuck is there a demon in the parking garage?”

Despite the scary reality, Sam chuckled. It sounded too ridiculous to be true.

“Maybe some idiot kids summoned it for a dumb YouTube video.”

Colby snickered. “Heh, who would be that stupid?”

Sam grinned. “Losers.”

As they fell into silence, their smiles faltered. Sam felt himself dozing, so he distracted himself by tracing the letters on Colby’s shirt.

“Sam,” Colby began when Sam was halfway through the word, “I’m scared.”

Sam frowned. He pushed himself up and looked at Colby. “Of what?”

Colby turned so Sam could sit up. He crossed his legs and played with his hands. Sam watched and waited patiently.

“I started practicing witchcraft because I thought it was interesting, but now I feel like it’s getting too dangerous.”

Sam grabbed Colby’s hands. “Do you still think it’s interesting?”

“Yeah.”

“Worries and everything aside, do you still want to continue learning it?”

Colby nodded slowly. “Yeah, I think so.”

“Then…” Sam shrugged. “Keep going.” He smiled. “ _Take Chances_.”

“Shut the fuck up, I’m trying to be serious.” Colby glared, but he was trying really hard not to smile. “If they were just trying to fuck with me, I wouldn’t care. But… But he went after _you_.”

Sam didn’t miss the grip tightening around his hands. “I can take care of myself.”

“Against a witch? Sorry babe, but no.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right… I still get freaked out when I see a ghost.”

“Well,” Colby chuckled, “I think that’s a pretty valid reaction…”

“For a normal person, maybe—”

“But you’re not normal, are you?” Colby smirked. “You’re _Beyond the Norm_!”

Sam’s eyes fell shut as he lost his train of thought, and he laughed. Seeing him smile made the weight on Colby’s chest disappear. He gave a lopsided grin as he watched Sam shake his head and breathe a soft giggle.

“So much for being serious,” Sam snickered.

“I’m just trying to lighten the mood. I hate being all serious.”

“I know.” Sam took a deep breath. “Listen, as long as you’re still interested, I think you should keep going with this. I’m sure the pros outweigh the cons here.”

“Really? The con is the leader of powerful coven now probably threatening both of our lives.”

“Okay yeah, but the pro is that you _hate_ authority, and you _hate_ when people mess with the ones you love. If you use that as motivation, you could be just as powerful as he is, if not more!” Sam squeezed Colby’s hands. “Don’t let him scare you, Colby. You can beat him, I _know_ you can.”

Colby shook his head in disbelief. “How did I get so lucky with you?” He leaned forward and kissed Sam’s lips. 

When Sam pulled away, he smiled. “We stupidly fell in love with the same girl.”

Colby snorted. “Yeah, if only we knew right?”

Their laughter echoed throughout their apartment. Whatever worries they had at the beginning of the day were gone, or at least forgotten by the presence of the other.


	9. he wants to talk to you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Colby searches for ways to fight back.

Not long after Sam laid down on that couch, he fell asleep. Colby knew he’d have to move Sam to the bedroom eventually, but not until he was going to bed too. There were a few hours of daylight left, so Colby spent his time reading through his Book of Shadows.

He kicked his feet up on the coffee table in front of the couch and grabbed his phone. Colby glanced at Sam to make sure the boy was still sleeping before starting up his Tumblr app. It was the only place he could keep his inbox open and not be flooded with messages from fans. Nobody knew that he had a Tumblr, and he preferred to keep it that way.

His Internet friend’s username was _bigandwitch_ , but she went by Margret. Colby came across her profile when he was just learning the craft, and her blog had tons of helpful tips for beginners. They became fast friends, and now he turned to her anytime he had questions.

Colby sent a simple greeting to see if she was even awake. She lived on the east coast, so it was later into the night over there. He couldn’t remember if she went to bed early or not, but he hoped not. He couldn’t stop thinking about Casey and whatever the hell he was planning. Colby knew he would have trouble sleeping that night if he didn’t figure out something to counter Casey’s attack.

A simple listening spell would be perfect, if there was such a thing. Maybe Colby could overhear Casey and Hailey’s true plans and figure out a way to stop them.

He switched between his book and Tumblr for two hours, speaking with his friend while skimming the pages for anything useful. There were a few spells that might work, but their purposes were broad and vague. Colby was beginning to lose hope that they’d find the right incantation, and as the sun sank behind the skyscrapers, his energy disappeared along with it.

Finally, finally, his friend sent him a link to a fellow witch blog post. It was the instructions for astral projection. He knew little about the concept already, just that it was an out-of-body experience. The idea always sounded farfetched, but could it actually be possible?

His Internet friend added a warning message beneath the link:

**_Be careful! There could be dangerous side effects to this._ **

Colby nodded slowly, but he couldn’t help taking the advice with a grain of salt. Every spell he performed could have a dangerous side effect. That was just the risks of messing with magic.

“What’re you doing?”

Colby jumped at the groggy question that came from his left. He closed his book and turned to Sam sheepishly.

“Uh… Nothing…”

Sam squinted. He pushed himself up and looked out the window. “What time is it?”

“Time for you to go back to sleep.” He figured Sam didn’t sleep much the night before, so he was determined to change that this time around. Colby laid his book on the coffee table and rose from the couch.

“Do you miss the trap house?” Sam mumbled as he sat up.

Colby frowned. Random. “The people? Yeah. The house? … Not really. C’mon, let’s go to bed.” He pulled Sam up by his wrists and led the boy down the hallway.

“I feel like I left something there.” Sam’s words were starting to slur together. His eyelids were droopy, and he swayed like his energy was drained.

He just woke up from a two hour nap, and he still looked and sounded exhausted. If he was that tired, why did he wake up? Did something wake him? A bad dream, maybe?

“We double checked before we left. There was nothing.” Colby guided him to the bed and peeled back the covers. Sam laid down on the mattress and eagerly pulled the sheets over his shoulders. Was he cold? Colby frowned. It didn’t feel cold to him in the room.

Before Colby got ready for bed, he headed to the front door. He just needed to make sure the protection sigil was still there and not smudged off. It was, just as dark as when he first drew it.

A few minutes later, Colby was climbing into bed behind Sam. He wrapped his arms around the smaller boy and kissed Sam’s neck.

“Goodnight,” he whispered.

•••••

At 3:33 AM, Sam woke with a start.

He was laying in his bed. Behind him were soft snores from his partner, but other than that, their room was quiet. Just like every other night, they were engulfed in darkness.

Sam was never the type of kid to be afraid of the dark. Even after experiencing supernatural incidences with his friends, he never felt endangered sleeping with the lights off. In fact, the darkness was kind of peaceful.

In that moment though, after the second nightmare he’d had that night, the blackness made him uneasy. There was something in his head, roaming around his dreams, maybe even living at their old house? But what if it was attached to him? And what if it was in that room in that moment, and he couldn’t see it?

If Sam can’t see, then _that_ was a problem.

He wracked his brain for ideas to ease the darkness. There weren’t any lights he could turn on that wouldn’t be too bright. There was a light in the closet, maybe he could turn it on and leave the door cracked? Yeah, that sounded like a good idea.

Sam slid out of bed carefully. He moved slowly across the floor, arms out in front of him as he braced himself to bump into something. His fingers brushed against the plastic closet door, and he reached inside to grope the inner wall for a moment before he found the light switch. Sam flipped the lights on and almost closed the door all the way.

His room was a bit brighter, but not enough to keep him up. As he retreated back to the bed, Colby rolled over and mumbled incoherently.

Sam slid back under the covers, and Colby lazily cracked an eye open.

“Sam?” he whispered.

“Shh,” Sam laid next to him and rolled over, so their faces were inches apart, “go back to sleep.”

Colby’s eyes shut again. He sighed, “Okay.”

Sam eventually found himself dozing again. He knew there would probably be another nightmare or two before he woke again, but at least the next time he opened his eyes, he wouldn’t be faced with more darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i always seem to write these chapters after midnight, and every time i write a scene involving supernatural creatures like demons or ghosts, i feel like something is watching me o.o
> 
> anyways, we're halfway through! any ideas on what may happen next? ;)
> 
> also, thank you to everyone who has given this story kudos and left your reviews! i'm so glad to see you're enjoying it so far! :D


	10. promises are made to be broken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Colby attempts astral projection, and Sam embarks on a dangerous journey.

Light peeked through the blinds on their windows, and that was what woke them. Both of them, obviously. When Colby rolled over to see if Sam was awake, the blond squinted groggily like he’d just come out of his slumber as well. It wasn’t like he woke an hour or two earlier from _another_ nightmare, no. That would be a little concerning.

Sam closed his eyes again and buried his face in the blanket. He could feel the lack of energy pinning his arms down, and he wished he could sleep for another six hours.

The alarm on his phone suddenly went off, and he jumped. His eyes shot open, and he watched Colby rise to turn it off himself. Sam beat him to it, though. He rolled over, silenced the alarm, and sunk back onto his pillow. He needed to get up anyways; he hated the idea of wasting a day by sleeping through it.

Still, when Colby pressed his chest against Sam’s back and held the blond in a warm embrace, Sam contemplated staying in bed the rest of the day. He relaxed under Colby’s touch and nuzzled his cheek into the pillow.

“Morning,” Colby whispered in his ear.

“Morning,” Sam mumbled, eyes falling shut again.

Colby’s grip loosened as he slipped into sleep once more. Even Sam found himself falling asleep, despite whatever nightmares he was having before.

It was an hour later when Sam was jolted awake again by another chilling scene. His body jerked as he gasped, and his eyes shot open. Behind him,  
Colby’s body tensed, and his arms tightened around Sam.

“What’s wrong?” Colby demanded. He propped himself on his elbow, so he could look at Sam’s face. “Are you okay?”

“Bad dream,” Sam mumbled. He rolled over onto his back and stared up at Colby.

“You’ve been having a lot of those, huh?” Sam’s eyebrows furrowed questioningly, so Colby continued, “I kind of figured when you woke up last night on the couch. You said something about the trap house?”

Oh god, the trap house. AKA, the home his nightmares revolved around. His dreams never lasted long, and they were never more than dark visions of his previous house. Still, there was an eerie feeling in his subconscious that forced him awake every time he wandered too close to the garage. Of course, everything ended at probably the most haunted room in the house. There was something still in his old home, he knew it.

“Yeah,” Sam answered.

“You want to talk about it?”

“There isn’t much to talk about. It’s usually me walking through the trap house, and there’s this red light that keeps flashing. I always go the same way: Out of my room, down the stairs, and into the garage, but something happens when I reach the garage.”

Colby frowned. “What happens?”

“I don’t know. That’s when I wake up.”

“Hmm… Did you ever see anything in the old house?”

Sam hummed as he thought back. “No. I remember hearing stuff, but that could’ve been anything.”

“So, maybe, because you never saw it, this is your brain going through a ‘what if’ scenario. Like, what if it was actually a spirit and not, I don’t know, Jake knocking over the ketchup bottle or something?”

“Maybe…” Whatever was the reason, Sam wished it would end. He hadn’t felt this exhausted in well, ever.

“Let’s go get breakfast. I’m starving,” Colby suggested before rolling out of bed.

“Okay,” Sam sighed. Even though he knew he wouldn’t get any sleep, he still didn’t want to leave his spot on the bed. But, admittedly, he was hungry. Guess he’d have to try sleep another time.

•••••

A few hours later, they were back home. Colby retreated to his room to film a video for his channel, and Sam grabbed his car keys. He didn’t mention where he was going, only that he’d be back later. With a quick kiss to the cheek and a farewell, they went their separate ways.

It took Sam forty-five minutes to return to the familiar street his previous home resided on. As he turned the corner and cruised down Woodley Ave, nostalgia washed over him. Even though it'd been almost a month since they moved out, he still missed the mansion from time to time. He and Colby lived in LA for four years now, and half of it was spent in this house. The end of the Trap House era was bittersweet.

Sam parked across the street and one house down, so he could inspect the house better. The gate was closed, but there was a car sitting in the driveway. He recognized it as the vehicle their landlord owned; Sam wondered if he was sizing up the damages the boys did to the home. They didn’t completely destroy it, but the floors were disgusting, _and_ the air conditioning didn’t work, _and_ Aaron tore the strip of wood off the doorframe at the bottom of the stairs… Okay, maybe they didn’t leave it in the _best_ condition…

The window on the right side of the house was open. That used to be Jake’s room. Was it the landlord who opened it? Did he forget about it? Hm.

Sam wondered if the code to the gate was still the same. He wondered if the landlord had fixed the handle on the front door yet. How easy would it be to sneak inside? Could he just walk in, or would he have to be stealthy?

His eyes scanned the front face of the house. He eyed the front door, the lower windows, and then the upper. He started at Jake’s end of the home and moved to his old room, and just when his gaze settled on his window, he saw it. It was hard to distinguish what shape it was, but there was definitely a white figure standing in front of the window. He knew because he watched it brush the curtains to the side, and it moved out of sight before his eyes. That wasn’t the landlord, he knew it.

Sam visited his old house because he thought his nightmares were trying to tell him something, but now he was sure of it. There _was_ something lingering in the mansion, a supernatural being that was probably there the whole time.

He thought back to what that demon in the parking garage said. He remembered what it hissed as it tried taking control of his body.

_“He wants to talk to you.” ___

__What if _he_ was in that house? What if that’s why Sam continued having nightmares about the mansion?_ _

__Sam knew what he had to do. He had to go further than the street or the driveway._ _

__If there was any chance at stopping these nightmares, Sam had to get inside._ _

__•••••_ _

__Colby turned off his camera and cleared his floor of the luck spell he just performed for his channel. He was glad he’d added witchcraft to his YouTube content because he was able to get practice in while still keeping up his uploading schedule. It was a win-win._ _

__But now, it was time to put away the level one beginner magic. Now was the time to bust out the higher level intermediate magic that would, hopefully, give him some insight on what was happening in the apartment next door._ _

__He grabbed his computer and headed for the balcony in their apartment. As he took a seat in the floor, he sent a quick text to Sam, questioning when the blond would be home. Colby needed to know he’d have time before he dove into anything._ _

__A ping drew his attention a minute later, and Sam informed that he wouldn’t be home for at least another hour or two. Colby figured it might be enough time to at least try whatever he was planning._ _

__“Turn on colored lights,” Colby ordered. The regular lights flicked off, and the neon ones replaced them. It was still bright in the apartment, but not as much as before. Plus, the neon lights were soothing, and according to the blog post, he needed to be calm for this to work._ _

__There weren’t many steps to reaching the astral plane, but apparently, it would take more than one attempt. Colby wasn’t surprised; after all, nothing as powerful as this happened in one go._ _

___Step one, lay down. Step two, close your eyes and take deep breaths_. Colby rubbed his hands over his face before dropping his arms to his sides. His eyes fell shut, and he inhaled and exhaled deeply through his nose. After a few minutes, he could feel his muscles relaxing. Colby’s head rolled to the side._ _

___Step three, imagine light vibrations making your body tremble_. He began at his feet, imaging the buzzing opening in his bones and webbing out across each foot. The buzzing climbed up his legs, infecting every vein, every bone with vibrations that made his skin itch. It was an uncomfortable feeling, having to suppress an itch. Ever so slightly, Colby moved his left foot over to his right leg and scratched the skin._ _

__Immediately, the vibrations were gone. His muscles tensed again. Whatever work he’d out in over the past few minutes melted away._ _

__Colby huffed. _Okay, so no moving. Got it.__ _

__It took multiple tries, but finally, he felt his body slip into a weightless state. He could feel sleep trying to take over, so he pictured his computer lying next to him. He used the image to keep him awake and grounded and focused on his objective._ _

___Step four, picture a rope hanging above your head and stretching high enough that you can’t see the top. Without moving your physical body, imagine reaching your arm up, grabbing the rope, and pulling yourself up._ _ _

__The rope dangled over his forehead. It was black and white, and there were knots evenly spaced from each other. Colby imagined lifting his right arm above his head and grabbing the rope just above a knot. He imagined his fingers curling around a scratchy material that burned his skin when he tried pulling himself up. He lifted his other arm and grabbed onto the rope above his other hand._ _

__With a deep breath, Colby pictured pulling his body to his hands. There was a strain on his chest as he struggled to lift his body off the ground. C’mon, he didn’t skip arm day for nothing. Colby let his arms relax before trying again._ _

__After a few attempts, Colby felt his shoulders lifting off the carpet. Next, his back. As he bent at the waist and sat up, he moved his hands further up the rope. He could actually imagine getting rope burn from this, wildly._ _

__With a deep breath and a final pull, Colby was on his feet. Except, not really. He wasn’t standing on the ground, and when he looked at his arms, they were see-through._ _

__Colby spun around and stared at his physical body lying on the ground. It looked like he was just taking a nap. Could this be a dream? Maybe he fell asleep instead. Still, this was the most realistic dream he’d ever had._ _

__He floated toward the rail outlining the balcony. Would he have to walk down the stairs, or could he just faze through?_ _

__His question was answered by accident when he didn’t stop at the railing. Instead, his body passed through the metal bars like they weren’t even there, and he gently floated to the bottom floor._ _

__“Holy shit,” he muttered. “This is crazy!”_ _

__Colby took his time getting to the doorway. He took advantage of being weightless, performing flips through the air and pushing off of walls to shoot across the room. If this really was a dream, he didn’t want to wake up!_ _

__He landed on the back wall across from the door. He was going to try to push off this wall and make it into the hallway in one go. Colby pressed his fingers to the wall, bent his knees, and pushed off with a determined yell._ _

__Colby charged across the room like a bullet, through their door, and across the hallway. He barely got a glimpse of the outside corridor before he barreled into the next apartment._ _

__He managed to slow himself down before he hit the next wall, and he looked around the Claiborne’s home. It was classy and organized. The walls were tan, and there were dark brown accents._ _

__Sitting on a white couch in front of a brown brick fireplace was Hailey. She was hunched over the coffee table, muttering in a language Colby faintly recognized as she poured different ingredients into a wooden bowl. Red candles sat around the table, and there was a pentagram drawn in the center beneath the bowl._ _

__Colby moved carefully around the loveseat and approached tentatively. He wondered what kind of spell she was doing. Did it affect just herself, or was this going to be a part of Casey’s plan to try persuading Colby to join their coven?_ _

__“Hailey,” Casey called from down the hallway._ _

__Hailey jumped into action quickly. She muttered a few more words before blowing out the candles. She jumped to her feet, rushed past Colby, and grabbed a box sitting next to the fireplace. Quickly, she packed away her supplies._ _

__Just as she snapped the box shut and shoved it under the couch, Casey strolled into the room. “Hailey,” he growled, “answer me when I call you, damn it.”_ _

__“Sorry, dear. Did you need something?” Hailey asked softly, staring up at him with innocent eyes._ _

__Colby squinted. Was she… Why did she hide that so quickly?_ _

__“Have you spoken to Colby anymore about joining our coven?”_ _

__Hailey frowned. “No, I haven’t got the chance yet. Didn’t you talk to Sam about that the other day, though?”_ _

__Casey fixed the last button on his shirt. “It didn’t come up, but that’s not why I wanted to speak with him anyways.”_ _

__His wife’s face fell. “Don’t tell me you brought up Marcus’ ridiculous idea.”_ _

__“It’s _not_ ridiculous,” Casey growled. “It’s power.”_ _

__Colby’s vision blurred for a moment. He blinked rapidly, and it cleared once more._ _

__“It’s _dangerous_ ,” Hailey hissed. “You want to mess with beings you don’t understand.”_ _

__“I understand them perfectly. I can see and communicate with them. I’m not messing with them, I want to _control_ them.” Casey shook his head. “I don’t expect you to understand.”_ _

__Hailey huffed._ _

__Suddenly, “COLBY?!”_ _

__Colby stumbled in surprise, and the room spun. That was definitely Sam; why was his voice so _loud??_ And where did it come from? Colby turned toward the door. It was too clear to come from the other side of the door, and it echoed, why did it echo?_ _

__“Sam?” Colby replied, moving toward the door._ _

__“Colby?! Oh my god, what the hell? Can you hear me?!” Sam was frantic, and it made Colby’s breath hitch. He disappeared through the door and floated into their own apartment._ _

__“This better not be another fucking prank,” Sam growled. His voice was coming from… _Oh_. He must’ve found Colby’s lifeless body. Whoops._ _

__Sam was hunched over Colby, shaking his shoulders helplessly while trying to keep his own breathing calm._ _

__“I’m okay Sam,” Colby tried reassuring as he knelt next to his body. His vision went fuzzy again. “Just calm down.” He watched Sam raise two trembling hands to cup his face._ _

__“If I find a camera filming all of this, you can sleep on the fucking couch,” Sam warned._ _

__Colby snickered despite the room spinning around him._ _

__Sam’s shoulders sagged, and he leaned away from Colby. He pushed himself against the railing, dragged a hand down his face, and sighed._ _

__Colby frowned and tilted his head to the side. “What’s wrong with you?”_ _

__Obviously, Sam couldn’t hear him. If Colby wanted answers, he needed to get back into his body first._ _

__He laid down on the ground inside of his physical body. The blogpost informed that the easiest way to return from the astral plane was to close your eyes, so that’s what he did. His eyes fell shut, and he imagined his spiritual body sinking back into his physical one._ _

__Colby’s eyes fluttered open, and he gazed around the room. “Sam?” he muttered, sitting up slowly._ _

__“Are you okay?” Sam asked quietly._ _

__“Yeah.”_ _

__“Good.”_ _

__Sam jumped to his feet and crossed his arms over his chest. “You told me you were finished with these kinds of pranks!” he yelled._ _

__Something trickled over Colby’s upper lip, and he wiped it away with his finger. When he looked at his hand, his stomach dropped at the sight of blood. A nosebleed? He didn’t get those._ _

__He remembered Margret’s warning. Maybe this was a side effect of performing it for the first time._ _

__“It wasn’t a prank,” Colby reassured._ _

__Sam huffed. He stormed downstairs without a word, and Colby wondered if he was going to come back. Colby tried climbing to his feet, but his head was pounding, and he was feeling dizzy._ _

__Sam returned a moment later with paper towels. “Don’t move,” he ordered softly as he sat next to Colby. He handed the paper towels over and watched Colby stick one up his nose._ _

__“You better have a good reason for scaring me like that. What the hell did you do?”_ _

__Colby pulled Sam’s hand into his lap. His gaze settled on the red tint covering Sam’s arm, and he frowned._ _

__“Are you sunburned?”_ _

__“Uh, yeah.”_ _

__Colby frowned. “Where’d you say you were going again?”_ _

__“I… I asked you first.”_ _

__Colby’s eyes narrowed. That sounded suspicious, but whatever._ _

__“I, uh…” He chuckled. “You’re not going to believe this.”_ _

__“Try me.”_ _

__“I astral projected myself into the Claiborne residence and listened in on their conversations.”_ _

__Sam stared._ _

__“I knew you wouldn’t believe it,” Colby muttered._ _

__“You could’ve been dreaming?”_ _

__“I know I’m a heavy sleeper, but even I would’ve woken up to you screaming in my ear.”_ _

__Sam’s eyebrows furrowed. He pulled away from Colby and leaned back like he always did when encountered with something he didn’t understand._ _

__“How… How did you…”_ _

__“It took a lot of time and focus. I can show you sometime if you want.”_ _

__“No no, I’m good. So… Did you find out anything?”_ _

__“Uh, I found out that Casey talked to you about someone named Marcus? And apparently, whatever he talked to you about is dangerous, and Hailey doesn’t approve. Why didn’t you tell me about it?”_ _

__Sam shook his head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”_ _

__“Not a clue?”_ _

__“No.”_ _

__“Huh.”_ _

__“Maybe… I mean, I don’t remember getting back home after I was out with Jake. Maybe he and I had a conversation about this Marcus guy, and then he erased my memory? Is that a thing?”_ _

__“Why would he erase your memory though?”_ _

__“I don’t know, maybe so I wouldn’t talk about it?”_ _

__Colby groaned. “This is so confusing. I wish we could just figure out what the fuck is going on.”_ _

__Sam gnawed on his lip. “Can we talk downstairs?”_ _

__Colby nodded. He climbed to his feet and offered a hand to Sam. As they made their way to the stairs, Sam kept a close eye on Colby, making sure he didn’t fall on his way down._ _

__“Hey, you never answered me.” When Colby reached the first floor, he turned and gazed up at Sam. “Where’d you go today?”_ _

__“I’ll tell you just,” Sam squeezed past him and walked to the couch, “come sit down.”_ _

__Colby discarded his bloody paper towel in the trashcan before joining Sam on the couch.  
Sam leaned against the arm of the couch and pulled his feet into the seat._ _

__“What’s up?” Colby asked._ _

__“I visited the trap house today because I thought that’s where my dreams were telling me to go, and I think it is.”_ _

__Colby pressed his lips together; he didn’t like where this was going. “So…”_ _

__“So, I think I need to get inside. Something’s in there, and it wants to talk to me.”_ _

__“How’re you going to get inside? I know our landlord was cool and all, but I don’t think he’ll let you get in without a valid reason.”_ _

__“Well, uh…” Sam drummed his fingers against his knee. “I was kind of thinking about… Sneaking in?”_ _

__Colby scoffed. “No way. You can’t get arrested again.”_ _

__“I know, but—"_ _

__“No, Sam! No buts. Do you realize how dangerous that is? Never mind whatever the fuck is in that house, if you’re arrested again, you’ll actually go to jail, and it’ll be harder to get you out this time.” Colby shook his head._ _

__“Colby,” Sam pleaded, “I can’t sleep. These nightmares are getting worse, and they have something to do with that house. If there’s a way I can stop this, I need to try.”_ _

__“Fine, then I’ll go with you.”_ _

__Sam smiled sadly. “Thanks, but no. I can’t protect both of us.”_ _

__“You can’t even protect yourself. You’re more vulnerable than I am probably.” Colby clenched his jaw. “They can hurt you, Sam.”_ _

__“I know.”_ _

__“Look, I know there are some spells in my book that will help you sleep better. Some even block out any nightmares!”_ _

__Sam sighed. There wasn’t a chance of him changing Colby’s mind, and vice versa. Their decisions were final. He cupped Colby’s cheek with his hand and pulled his boyfriend in for a kiss. With his other hand, his fingers curled in Colby’s hair. Colby’s hand hooked around Sam’s waist, and he lowered the blond onto the couch._ _

__Colby deepened the kiss while his hand slipped under Sam’s shirt. His fingers trailed across Sam’s skin, making the smaller shudder. His hand slid into Sam’s pants, and he palmed the boy’s dick._ _

__“Promise me you won’t go back,” Colby ordered softly as he broke the kiss._ _

__“Colby,” Sam whined. He strained his neck, eager to catch Colby’s lips._ _

__Colby hand returned to Sam’s stomach, and he repeated more firmly, “Sam, promise me you won’t go back._ _

__Sam sunk into the pillow. His eyes flickered between Colby’s, and he knew Colby wouldn’t back down._ _

__“I promise,” Sam whispered with a head nod. He reached a hand out and pushed Colby back to him._ _

__Colby kissed him gently before leaving a trail of kisses down his neck._ _

__Sam’s mind was swimming with too many worries and concerns, but he forced them all away because he needed to remember this moment. He needed to remember the chills of skin-on-skin contact, the delicate kisses, the sensations of pleasure that he only felt with his partner._ _

__He needed something to anchor him, to remind him what exactly he was fighting for…_ _

__•••••_ _

__… because at 3 AM, Sam woke from another nightmare, despite whatever spell Colby cast on him hours earlier._ _

__They had fallen asleep on the couch, wrapped up in blankets (Sam suggested it before things got _too_ heated). He lay on the outside, pressed tightly against Colby’s chest with arms wrapped around him. The neon lights were still on, so at least they weren’t engulfed in darkness._ _

__Sam carefully rolled over, so he was facing Colby. He smiled at his boyfriend’s sleepy face, and he gently dragged his thumb across Colby’s cheek._ _

__“I love you,” Sam whispered. He kissed Colby’s forehead and waited a moment, searching for any sign of movement. Nothing happened; bless Colby being a heavy sleeper._ _

__Cautiously, Sam climbed off the couch and rose to his feet. He tip-toed out of the room and back to their bedroom._ _

__A few minutes later, he emerged fully dressed in a pair of black jeans and one of Colby’s black hoodies with his wallet, keys, and a flashlight. This was the first time he was planning to trespass somewhere without wearing bright colors._ _

__Sam moved slowly as he crossed the living room. He kept his eyes on Colby the whole time, even when he cracked open the door and started to slip into the hallway._ _

__“I’m sorry,” he muttered. He tried not to think about how pissed Colby was going to be when he woke up._ _

__This was about to be the scariest experience of his life, and for the first time ever, he was on his own._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> that last bit is the first "steamy" thing i've ever written, so sorry if it sucks xD


	11. sam finally talks to him

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam finally faces whatever has been haunting their house from the beginning.

Sam parked his car a few hours down from the mansion. He needed it far enough away for police to ignore if they were called, but close enough for him to reach to make a clean getaway. Whew, this was bringing back memories.

As he walked down the street, he silenced his phone and put it in his pocket. The last thing he needed was his phone to go off while he was sneaking inside, or worse, having a conversation with a literal demon. That would be awkward.

He approached the front gate and quickly punched in the familiar code. To his surprise and relief, the gate began to open! Maybe their landlord hadn’t changed too much about the house yet.

Sam walked up the driveway and tilted his chin back to gaze at the still open window two stories above him. There was no chance the front door would be unlocked, so it seemed like Jake’s old room was the only entry point.

That open window was too easy, he knew, but there wasn’t another way inside. Whether this was a trap or not, Sam had no choice. He’d made it this far already… And he had to know why the hell this house wanted him back so badly.

Sam walked around the shrubbery lining the front of the house. Hey, at least the building’s design included blocked corners that were climbable.  
Granted, Jake almost fell when he climbed through his window, but that was Jake.

He stuffed the flashlight into his hoodie pocket and hoped it stayed put while he climbed. Sam took a deep breath, reached up, and curled his fingers around the tops of the white bricks. Next, he positioned his feet on a pair of lower steps. Oh geez, these were more slippery than they looked. Sam could already feel his fingers sliding.

Sam’s limbs moved in sync. His right hand rose with his left foot, and vice versa. He moved quickly, but every step higher was proceeded with caution. A fall from a two story height would hurt, after all.

The window was nearly within reach. Sam’s arms shook as he pulled himself up another step. It had been a few months since he climbed something like this, and he knew his arms would be sore by tomorrow morning. Still, he missed the adrenaline rush of climbing something he wasn’t supposed to.

Sam wrapped his right arm around the corner. Slowly, he inched his feet across the bricks and stretched his left arm toward the open window. His fingertips just barely brushed the window seal, and he cursed his short arms. Jake was able to reach it just fine.

He finally got a grip on the window seal, and he worked on climbing inside. Good thing it was dark out, because he knew his entrance was anything but graceful.

Sam dropped in the floor of Jake’s old room, and his stomach immediately fell to his knees. The house was pitch dark—he couldn’t even see his hand in front of his face. And everything was _silent_. He’d never heard the trap house so still and lifeless.

He quickly revealed his flashlight to the room and flicked it on. It shone through the open door and down the familiar hallway.

Okay, so now he just had to make it downstairs and to the garage. No big deal, right? Right. There was an upside to being alone in the house, at least. He could move quickly and make noise if he wanted to; there was no reason to hide! That made his journey downstairs a little less stiff.

Still, Sam couldn’t keep his flashlight still. He was constantly switching from his left side to his right and behind him a few times, just to reassure that nothing was following him. 

Something was there, though. He could feel its stare on his back as he turned corners and made his way down the stairs. Sam tried searching for it a few times, but he only ever caught slivers of shadows melting back into the darkness.

He grabbed onto the doorframe when he reached the bottom of the stairs. There was still a loose piece of wood from Aaron escaping Colby’s duct tape wall. Sam felt a spark of guilt for how much it’ll cost to fix their damages. Whoops?

“ _Samuel_ ,” a voice whispered. 

Sam’s body went rigid as the word echoed in the foyer.

“Hello?” he called. Sam chanced a step forward, squinting into the darkness as his flashlight carefully scanned every inch of the corridor.

“ _Come along, boy. I’ve been expecting you_.”

Sam continued his trek to the garage. The voice bounced around his head, and he couldn’t figure out which direction it was actually coming from. He ignored the tremble in his hands and the churning in his stomach. _Everything will be okay_ , he reassured. _He was going to get to the bottom of this, and then go home. He was going to sink back into bed with Colby and sleep forever. All would be okay again._

The garage door creaked open as Sam approached. Fuck, okay, it’s okay. Breathe. He came to a halt just outside the door and shifted back on his feet. A cool wind breezed through the doorway and chilled him to the bone.

Inside the garage were two figures surrounded by a circle of candles. One of the figures was very clearly a tall man with broad shoulders. The other figure was a—

Holy fucking hell, no way.

“Samuel, please step inside,” a new voice requested. The words echoed through the kitchen. “We have important matters to discuss.”

Sam leaned against the doorframe. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then he stepped out of the house. Once he crossed the threshold between kitchen to garage, he felt the temperature drop considerably. A chill ran down his spine and made his limbs shudder.

A low growl rumbled from the creature wrapped around the man. The creature raised its head and opened its mouth, and all of the blood drained from Sam’s face.

It was an alligator, or maybe a crocodile. He wasn’t sure, but it wasn’t a regular reptile. This creature was large in both mass and length. It appeared large enough to ride, and if Sam were to lay next to it, it would probably be longer than his body.

“No sudden moves,” the man warned. “Unlike myself, she will bite if provoked.”

Sam pressed his lips together and squeezed his empty hand shut. “So… So, she’s an alligator?”

“Crocodile, actually. Don’t you know the difference?”

“I, uh, I’m from Kansas, so… No.”

This had to all be a dream, right? There was no actual fucking way he was having a conversation about crocodiles with a… A…

“Who… Who are you?” Sam asked hesitantly. He didn’t know how things were supposed to work, but the other guy wasn’t giving him any helpful information.

“I suppose that would be useful, hm? Especially if we’re going to work together.”

Sam frowned. Work together? Uh—

“Take a seat, please. Let’s get down to business.” The man gestured to the empty space across from him with a calloused hand. His physical features were so human-like that it made chills run down Sam’s spine. The man had a handsome face with a strong jawline, gray eyes, and short black hair brushed to the side. Sitting atop his head was a golden crown covered in jewels. 

There wasn’t any room inside of the circle (thankfully), so Sam sat on the floor just outside of the candles. He switched his flashlight off and held it tightly in his hands.

“I am Sallos,” the man introduced, “Duke of Hell.”

Sam’s mouth fell open. He didn’t mean to look so shocked, but this wasn’t just any demon. He wasn’t an expert on royal positions, but usually a duke of anything was only just less important and powerful as the king himself, right?

Holy fuck, he might actually die tonight.

Sallos chuckled. “You humans are so easily impressed. There are nine kings, twenty-three dukes, and so on.”

“Of Hell,” Sam repeated, more to himself to confirm that yeah, he was actually sitting across from an incredibly powerful fucking being.

“That’s correct.”

“And… Um, with all due respect, what is it you want with me?”

Sallos smiled. “I want your help, Samuel.”

“My help?”

“Have you heard of Marcus Pierce?”

“I’ve heard the name… I think.” When Sallos’ eyebrows furrowed, Sam explained, “My neighbor talked to me about him, I think, but then he erased my  
memory. It’s a long story.”

“Your neighbor must’ve been a witch.”

Sam nodded.

“And let me guess, your witch boyfriend told you about all of this?”

Sam frowned. “How did you—”

“I can see everything, Samuel; the past, present, and even the future. The future is what I’m most concerned about at the moment.”

“Oh… It must be pretty bad if _you’re_ worried about it.”  
Sallos nodded and shrugged. “Well, I’m a pacifist, and so are the demons in my legions. Ask any other of my kind however, and they’ll be thrilled about what is to come.”

“You’re a…” Sam bit his tongue. _A pacifist_. This demon is a fucking pacifist. Okay, this _had_ to be a dream. “Um, what’s about to come? And how soon?”

“Two days.”

“Two—Two days?!” Sam stared at the man with wide eyes.

“The first part, anyways. It’s the part that involves mainly you, your boyfriend, and… Somebody else I don’t recognize. A friend, perhaps?”

“What is it?”

“A trial for Colby,” hearing Sallos speak Colby’s name made the hairs on Sam’s arms stand up, “and the beginning of deception for both of you. Something is coming, and I need you to be on my side.”

“Okay…”

“Marcus Pierce is a powerful witch who forced a demon to give him the Sight.”

So, that story Taylor told him back at the hotel was about the same person Casey had been talking to him about. Why does this man keep coming up in conversation?

“He used the Sight to find souls trapped in the veil and consume their energy to strengthen his own power.”

“That sounds scary,” Sam admitted quietly.

Sallos nodded. “For a human, yes. These souls heightened his magical abilities, so I imagine he’s a force to be reckoned with. His coven caught him doing this, and they stripped him of his Sight.”

“I didn’t think witches were powerful enough to take something given by demons.”

Sallos raised an eyebrow. “Then you have a lot to learn.”

Sam gulped.

“Now, he’s spreading his practices to other witches.”

“But, how does this concern you? He stole souls, yeah, but—”

“There’s a balance in the universe, you see. There are souls reaped every second of the hours, and they’re divided between Heaven and Hell. We feed off of these souls. But, if there’s nothing to eat, then we have to turn to the living, and personally, I don’t want to do that.”

“I thought demons did that anyways?”

Sallos shook his head. “Only the higher ranks have the ability. The others just like to scare and torture your kind because,” he shrugged, an easy smile on his face, “it’s fun.”

“Oh, thanks.” Sam rolled his eyes.

“There are rogues, of course. Some who step out of line, expose themselves, and get exorcised straight back to Hell. Then, they have to deal with us. So, you see, it’s all about balance. If Marcus takes all of our resources, there will quite literally be Hell to pay.”

“I feel like you could accomplish more with your demons than me. I’m just a guy. A human.”

“Which means he won’t suspect you. If we attack now, he’ll sense us and escape. You both have had the same power; he’ll trust you.”

Sam pulled his lower lip between his teeth. “I heard he’s on the run. Are you saying I’m going to meet him soon?”

The demon shrugged. “Either you or Colby will. He’s also a witch, remember.”

“How are either of us supposed to stop him? I don’t have any magic, and Colby’s still a level one or something.”

Sallos grinned, revealing two rows of teeth sharpened into daggers. Sam froze at the sight. 

“I was hoping you’d ask,” the demon purred. “I have a proposition for you.” He leaned forward with a wicked glint in his eyes.

“I can help the two of you stop Marcus Pierce in his tracks.”

“In exchange for what?”

“A vessel—” Sam opened his mouth immediately to protest— “and my freedom.”

“Your… What?”

Sallos’ eyes narrowed, and he directed his deadly grin elsewhere. Sam found it easier to breathe with the heated gaze not settled on him.

“A man by the name of Casey Claiborne imprisoned me here sixteen years ago, to this very room.”

Sam’s mouth opened and closed a few times as he tried figuring out which matter he should focus on first. The Claibornes lived in the mansion before the Trap House did? And then, Sam and his friends lived with a freaking Duke of Hell for two years?! What the fuck?!

Sallos watched the boy squirm and try making sense of the new information. He raised an eyebrow. “I take it you know him.”

“He… He’s our neighbor.”

“All the more reason to let me out of here! That man’s a bastard, and I can take care of him for you.”

Sam shook his head. “No, no way. I’m not letting you possess me or whatever.”

“It would only be for two days.”

“And?? Isn’t demon possession like deadly?”

“Only if I remain for more than two days. There are side effects of course, but none that will kill you.”

“I have questions before you do this.”

Sallos’ eyes flickered to the doorway behind Sam. “Fine, but let’s make this quick.”  
•••••  
Across the street, a woman clad in silk stood in her bedroom while gazing out the window that overlooked their street. She’d been watching the mansion on the other side of the street for a while now, ever since she saw a suspicious figure scale the outer corner of the building.

Her husband appeared next to her, phone in his hand.

“Did you call them?” she asked.

“Yes, they’re on their way.”

“Good.” The woman scowled as she turned away from the window. “Hope that lowlife learns their lesson.”

Her husband chuckled as he pulled her back to bed. “Kind of a shame that he chose an empty house to rob.”

As the couple returned to their slumber, sirens echoed through the city.

•••••

“Why did he trap you here?” Sam demanded. “And how? I didn’t think a Duke of Hell could be captured so easily.”

“He summoned me about twenty years ago to help him persuade his wife to marry him.” Sallos scowled. “After I fulfilled his wish, I realized he trapped me with a complicated Devil’s Trap.”

Sam frowned. “A what?”

“It’s a pentagram decorated with imprisonment sigils.” Sallos glanced around at the candles surrounding them. “These candles weren’t placed here randomly.”

“You’re saying it’s, what? On the ground? That can’t be. I lived in this house for two years, and I never saw it. Nobody did.”

Sam looked at the floor just to double check. There was nothing but shadowed concrete. Surely, this guy was messing with him.

“That Sight of yours isn’t just for seeing supernatural beings, you know.”

The blond’s eyebrows furrowed. He looked from the demon to the floor once more. Sam narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing every inch of the space around him. It was an idiotic attempt, obviously. How could he spend the last six months in the house without seeing a giant pentagram in their garage??

But wait…

Sam knelt in front of a candle. There was a shadow stretching from one candle to the next, curving like the outer edge of a circle. No way. He reached for it, and when his fingers brushed across the shape, the shadow began to glow a deep red. 

Slowly, the rest of the circle livened up around the demon and his crocodile. A red glow connected the candles, one after the other. The circle completed where it started, and the light branched off from each circle to form a star beneath Sallos.

Sam stumbled back as the Devil’s Trap began to take shape. “What the hell…” he breathed, shaking his head in disbelief.

Sallos sighed. He climbed to his feet as the last of the sigils took their shape. A current swept past Sam; it was strong enough to nearly knock him over. 

The candles’ flames blew out in unison, and the harsh red glow of the trap became the only source of light in the room.

“Wow,” Sallos began, crossing his arms over his chest, “I wasn’t expecting that. You might have more magic in you than you realize.”

“I-I didn’t think I had any,” Sam stuttered. “How did I… How did I do that?”

“Casey put a cloaking spell on the trap just before they moved out, so the new owners wouldn’t be able to find it. Usually, cloaking spells only reveal themselves when similar magic touches it. It must be the similar energy you and Casey share.”

“So, you’ve been here this whole time? Through everything?”

Sallos nodded. “Yes, I’ve seen it all. Even the outrageous parties you all threw. I’m surprised you didn’t tear the house down with that last one.”

Sam’s cheeks flushed as he laughed sheepishly. “Yeah, we… That one might’ve gotten out of hand a bit…”

“And as entertaining as it was watching you idiots the past two years, I’m quite bored of this location. So, how about I make you a deal?”

Uh oh. If Sam remembered anything from TV shows and movies, it was that making deals with demons was never a good idea.

“What do you want?”

“You’re the only way I can finally escape this house.”  
Sam frowned and shook his head. He started to protest again, but Sallos beat him to it.

“It’ll only be temporary. Besides, you’ll need my help with what’s going happen in two days.”

“No-No way. Fuck that.” Sam inched backward, slowly trying to make a clean escape. “Not only is that the worst fucking idea I’ve ever heard, doesn’t demon possession kill the soul or something? I’d like to live a few more years at least, thanks.”

“The human body can last up to three days harboring a demonic presence. After that, my energy begins to swallow your soul and destroy your organs until you’re nothing but a shell.”

Cool, more nightmare fuel. “Was that supposed to convince me to say yes?”

“It doesn’t really matter if you say yes or not, I can take control whenever I please. I’m just trying to be civil.” Sallos shrugged innocently. “Also, I advise you speed this up.”

“Why? It’s not like you have anything better to do.”

“Listen.”

Sam narrowed his eyes. Silence fell over them; even the crocodile’s breathing wasn’t loud enough to disturb the peace. Sam closed his eyes and strained his hearing, searching for whatever Sallos had picked up on.

Faint sirens rang through the streets. They were close by and growing louder. Sam’s throat dried, although the chances of those sirens coming for him were slim; there wasn’t a day in Los Angeles that police or fire truck alarms didn’t fill the streets. Still, the familiar fear and adrenaline from their own exploring days made his skin hot. He rocked on his heels, ready to make a run for it.

“They’ll be here in two minutes,” Sallos explained. “In two minutes and fifteen seconds, they’ll storm the house. And, if you choose to not take my offer, you’ll be in handcuffs three minutes from now.”

“But if I leave right now, I can make it to my car before they arrive.”

“You could, but do you really think I’ll let you go that easily?”

His crocodile climbed to its feet and curled his neck to glare at the blond. It slithered to the edge of the circle, separating his jaws just enough for Sam to see the several rows of teeth lining its mouth.

“You can’t do anything,” Sam declared, though his voice wavered uncertainly. “It can’t leave the circle.”

Sam still took a step backward, just to be safe.

Then, the creature’s leathery green foot reached forward, over the glowing red circle as if the barrier didn’t even exist.

The color drained from Sam’s face.

“The spell was cast on just me,” Sallos explained. He chuckled at the boy’s fearful expression. “She’s just loyal enough to never leave my side.”  
Sam stumbled as the crocodile cornered him into the wall. It raised its chin and growled lowly from the back of its throat.

“Call it off,” Sam begged. He pressed his back into the wall and curled his hands into fists. “Please.”

“I’m sorry, I can’t do anything. I’m trapped.”

The crocodile lurched forward, snapping its strong jaws inches from Sam’s kneecaps.

Sam turned his head to the side, and he squeezed his eyes shut. “Ah okay, okay! You win! You win! Just call it off, please!”

The creature growled again. If it made another lunge, it’d bite through Sam’s leg for sure! Sam never imagined he’d die like this, at the expense of a crocodile, much less a demonic one.

Sallos whistled. “Back,” he ordered. 

Sam’s body rattled with heavy breaths. He cracked an eye open, and his shoulders sagged in relief at the croc’s retreating back.

The demon climbed to his feet, and it was the first time Sam realized how massive the creature was. Sallos stood at a height Sam had never seen in a human before. Seven, maybe eight feet tall. Fucking hell.

“I have a condition,” Sam declared.

“Bold of you to assume you’re in any position to make requests.”

“Well, it’s my body you want to take possession of. Shouldn’t that grant me a request?”

Sallos hummed. “Fine.”

Sam ignored the spark of pride in his stomach for standing up to a Duke of Hell. He demanded, “Unless I need your help, _I’m_ in control of my body.” 

Sallos raised his eyebrows in surprise, and Sam continued before he could lose his cool, “You need me, and it sounds like I need you too. If Colby finds out about this, he’s going to do anything he can to send you back to hell. I wouldn’t be surprised if he dug up this spell,” Sam gestured to the Devil’s Trap. “He’s persistent when he wants to be.”

“Deal.”

Sam exhaled deeply. His mind was fuzzy as he stepped closer to the circle again. That actually happened, didn’t it? He really just made a deal with a demon. A demon!

“How do I…”

“Give me your hand.” Sallos reached for him as far as the spell allowed. 

Sam stared at the seemingly normal human hand outstretched in front of him. He nervously glanced back and forth between the limb and the demon.

“Hurry,” Sallos urged. “Don’t you hear those sirens? They’re almost here!”

He was right. The sirens were louder; the police were probably on the same street now.

Sam took a deep breath, and he grabbed the demon’s hand. Immediately, fire pierced his skin and melted into his bones. Sam flinched and tried pulling away, but Sallos’ grip tightened.

“Now, repeat after me.”

•••••

A police car parked on the street just outside of the mansion. Two officers stepped out, a man and a woman with bags under their eyes because it’s three in the fucking morning, so this better be good.

“They left the gate open,” the man informed as he neared the green iron fence. He kept a hand on his hip, just above his gun in case of an emergency.

“Idiot,” his partner breathed, stalking past him. “I got the backyard. You search out here, kay?”

He nodded. “Sounds good. Be careful.”

She flashed a smile. “Yeah, always.”

The officers split up then. The man started at the right side of the driveway, and the woman rounded the left side of the house to reach the backyard.

She didn’t notice the blinding red light flashing from within the garage.

•••••

The concrete beneath Sam’s feet split as he repeated the foreign words Sallos was whispering in his ear. A strong wind swept around them, threatening to tackle Sam to the ground. The blond squeezed his eyes shut, and he grit his teeth until his jaw ached. 

The longer this went on, the more he regretted ever leaving his apartment. He could’ve tolerated the nightmares just a little longer, right? He and Colby could’ve found another way to fix things. Surely, surely there was a better way than handing his body over to a demon.

But, it was too late to back out now. Sam felt the vibrations in the soles of his feet, and the fire that began in his hand had spread to the rest of his body. Beads of sweat slid down his face, dripping off the ends of his hair and the tip of his nose. His chest was aflame, heart burning and breath dissolving before it can reach his lungs. Sam’s eyes snapped open, pupils shining a deep red, and he gasped helplessly for air.

Sallos grinned mischievously. “Finally,” he whispered. His body shifted back and forth until it melted away into smoke that arched in the air and dove into Sam’s mouth with enough force to finally knock the boy off his feet.  
Sam collapsed on the ground, eyes closed, and his head rolled to the side.

•••••

When Sam opened his eyes again, there was a bright light shining on his face. There was also muffled shouting from in front of and behind him. Sam raised his head and looked around. As he settled into his surroundings, the voices became louder. He could distinguish pitches and patterns. There were definitely two officers, a male and a female.

Sam climbed to his feet slowly. He gazed around the garage with faint red eyes. His mind was roomier than he’d been expecting, and it didn’t take long for him to realize what had happened.

Sallos’ subconscious was the only one currently awake. The shock of demonic possession must’ve been too much for Sam to handle in that moment.

In other words, Sallos was the one in charge.

The demon grinned.

•••••

Colby didn’t wake until eleven the following morning.

He was still on the couch, and Sam wasn’t with him. Didn’t they fall asleep together the night before? Colby frowned as he pushed himself up.

“Sam?” he called just before yawning. He reached for his phone as he waited for a response.

His phone was on ten percent from forgetting to charge it, but he didn’t have time to complain because his lock screen was flooded with texts from his former roommates. They were all talking about Twitter, the news, and… A break-in at their old house?

Colby anxiously opened Twitter and scrolled through his timeline. His fans were tweeting the boys, trying to get their attention with videos and screenshots from news stories. Every article was about a break-in on Woodley Avenue.

The brunet grit his teeth. He jumped to his feet and shouted, “Sam! God damnit, you better be back here.”

Colby stormed to their bedroom, stomach churning with worry and anger as he braced himself for… Well, anything. Anything could’ve happened the night before, and Colby wasn’t really sure he could handle whatever went down. 

Still, he threw open the door, and his breath caught at what he saw.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm sorry this took so long! these last few weeks have been so busy for me.
> 
> fun fact, i didn't make this demon up. he's actually a pacifist duke of hell, and people love to summon him because he's one of the nicer demons (crazy, i know)


	12. too many secrets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i have to get to work, so i'll edit this later. enjoy! :)

Sam was curled into a ball in the center of the bed, sound asleep. He was wearing a black long sleeve, which didn’t really make sense because it wasn’t cold in their apartment at all. Still, Colby wasn’t too worried about it.

He leaned against the doorframe, a breath of relief brushing past his lips. Despite whatever Sam did the night before, whether it was breaking his promise to Colby or doing something dangerous, in that moment, Colby was just relieved to see Sam safe.

Okay, moment’s over.

“Sam!” Colby called. He crawled on the bed and gently shook Sam awake. “Hey, wake up.”

Sam woke with a gasp. His eyes shot open, and he sat up immediately. His frantic gaze searched the room as he grasped his surroundings. Colby wrapped his fingers around Sam’s arm, and the blond flinched.

“Colby?” Sam whispered when his blue eyes finally fell on his partner. “Holy shit, hey.” He cupped Colby’s cheek and kissed the boy deeply.

Colby almost gave in; he was a complete sucker for kisses. But there was a reason he woke Sam in the first place, and it couldn’t be ignored.

He pulled away and demanded, “Did you go to the Trap House last night?” He caught Sam’s arms in his hands, just in case the older tried slipping away without answering the question.

“I, uh…”

“Because according to the news, somebody broke in this morning. Isn’t it kind of weird that you were just talking about sneaking in last night?”

Sam’s face fell. “Colby…”

“You broke our fucking promise, Sam.”

Sam flinched at the harsh words. “I know, I know.” He sighed. “I had to do it, though.”

Colby scoffed. “No, you didn’t.”

“Whatever sleeping spell you did last night didn’t work. I still had the same dream, and I knew it would’ve stop unless I went back.” 

“You could have been arrested! Or fucking killed!”

“But I wasn’t!” Sam offered a weak smile as he squeezed Colby’s hand. “I’m fine, see?” 

Colby glared. “That doesn’t make it okay, Sam!”

“I know… I’m sorry.”

“Yeah,” Colby scoffed. He shook his head and sighed.

“Colby—”

“You lied to me.”

Sam’s mouth dried, and he clenched his jaw.

“You risked your fucking life, and you lied to me. You’ve never lied to me before, Sam! Why now?” 

“Because I—”

“And don’t give me that fucking ‘because I had to’ shit.”

Sam took a few deep breaths. He opened his mouth and closed it again. “But… But I _did_. He needed to talk to me.”

“Who?”

“ _Keep your mouth shut_ ,” a deep voice growled in his ear as heat bubbled in his chest. It was just hot enough for his lungs to burn.

Holy fuck, he was actually being possessed by a demon.

“I, uh, don’t know. I didn’t get his name.”

Colby rolled his eyes and sighed. “Okay.” 

Sam was lying to him _again_ , but whatever.

Colby rose from the bed and headed to the door. Sam threw back the covers and followed him.

“Where are you going?” Sam demanded.

“Out.”

“Colby—”

Sam reached for Colby’s wrist and pulled him to a stop. He wasn’t going to let Colby leave in the middle of a fight; that wasn’t how they did things. Colby looked back at Sam expecting, and that was when Sam realized there wasn’t anything else to be said. He wanted to tell Colby what happened, but Sallos clearly didn’t. And, despite whatever agreement they had before, Sallos could force Sam to do whatever he pleased.

The grip around Colby’s wrist fell away reluctantly. Colby’s face softened as he watched Sam shift back. He was really hoping Sam would just tell him what was going on, but apparently that was too much to ask right now.

“I’ll be back later,” Colby informed as he slipped his shoes on. He grabbed his keys, opened the front door, and looked at Sam over his shoulder. “Don’t do anything else stupid while I’m gone.”

Sam nodded slowly. “Yeah, okay.”

The door shut, and Sam was alone with his own thoughts and demons.

Well, one demon.

“You need to tell me what happened last night,” Sam ordered.

“You passed out,” Sallos answered casually.

“Then what? I know the police were there. Why am I not in jail right now?”

“I convinced them that the culprit got away, and they didn’t see your face.” As Sam sighed with relief, Sallos added, “See? No harm, no foul.”

“I thought you…” _Killed them_ , he almost said, but he couldn’t bring himself to. He couldn’t imagine if Sallos actually had. That would mean two people died by Sam’s hands, whether he was conscious or not. The idea made him nauseous.

Sallos detected the sickening feeling, so he reassured softly, “I’m a pacifist, remember?”

Sam laid down on the couch. He grabbed the remote and turned on the TV while nuzzling his cheek against a pillow. He had only slept maybe two hours in the last three days, so the fatigue was starting to get to him again.

He knew he’d be asleep in a few minutes, but he still had questions for Sallos.

“So, that thing that’s happening in two days. Is that two days counting today? Like, it’s going to be tomorrow?”

“Yes.”

Sam’s breath caught in his throat. “Do you know when? Morning, afternoon, evening?”

Sallos could feel the human’s energy draining. “You should sleep.”

“No! Not until you give me some answers.”

“I’ve told you all I can. If you stay awake for another five minutes, you’re going to pass out from sleep deprivation anyways.”

Sam scowled, but he knew the demon was right. He could barely keep his eyes open. After a few more tries to stay awake, he finally surrendered and let his body slip into sleep.

•••••

Colby returned a few hours later with a box of food he picked up from Tender Greens. He met up with Brennen while he was out, and they discussed what could’ve happened at the mansion that morning. Brennen had a few ideas, and none of them were good.

Sam had migrated to the living room to take a nap. He was stretched across half the couch, one pillow under his head and another hugged to his chest. 

Colby kicked off his shoes, placed them against the wall, and hung up his keys. He walked around the couch and sat at the opposite end. He grabbed the TV remote laying on the coffee table and flipped through the channels.

For three hours, Sam slept soundlessly. Colby didn’t stray too far from the living room, just in case Sam woke from another nightmare, but it never happened. For the first time in a few days, Sam actually slept.

Around hour four, Colby slipped into the hallway to take the trash out. He couldn’t help but theorize for most of the afternoon about what happened to Sam, and he was so caught up in his own thoughts that he didn’t hear a door open behind him.

“Colby,” a stern voice called behind him, “just the man I wanted to see.”

Colby closed the door to the trash chute and turned to glare at his neighbor.

“Great, what the hell do you want?”

“I saw the news. No names were given, but I think you and I can guess the idiot who broke in, hm?”

Colby ignored the insult only because he didn’t want to cause a scene where anybody on their floor could walk out and see.

“The police said they didn’t see anyone,” Colby growled.

“Convenient. They’re looking for any information someone might have. Wouldn’t it be a shame if Sam’s name was anonymously submitted to the police station, hm?”

Unbeknownst to them, Jake Webber was just stepping into the hallway when this exchange was taking place.  


Colby took a step forward, close enough for him to speak lowly and nobody else could hear. He narrowed his eyes into slits and glowered at the older man.

“You’re not going to get me to join your stupid coven by ratting out Sam. The only thing you’re going to accomplish is pissing me off. If I find out that you’ve come after him again,” Colby grit his teeth, “then _I’m_ coming after _you_. Don’t underestimate me, bastard.”

Jake approached the situation hesitantly. He’d never seen Colby look so murderous.

“Uh… Colby?”

Colby and the man separated quickly. Immediately, Colby’s face melted into his regular genuine smile at the sight of his friend.

“Hey man, what’s up?”

Of course, Jake wasn’t buying that. He looked between Colby and the stranger carefully.

Casey retreated into his apartment, leaving the boys staring at each other weirdly.

“What the hell was—”

“I don’t know, crazy old man,” Colby explained with a shrug.

“Okay, I know there was more to it than that. C’mon, what’s up?”

Colby looked over Jake. They were best friends, right? They could trust him?

“Don’t try to lie to me. You looked like you were about to kill him,” Jake argued before Colby could come up with an excuse.

The brunet pulled his lower lip between his teeth. “Okay,” he sighed. He nodded toward his apartment. “C’mon, I’ll tell you.”


	13. welcome to the club

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam and Colby let Jake in on their secret; Hailey and Casey seek help in convincing Colby to join their coven.

“Okay, sure, so where’s the camera?”

Colby pressed his lips together and sighed. Jake didn’t believe them, of course. In his defense, the whole thing did sound pretty unbelievable. Colby knew he wouldn’t convince Jake with just words, though. He was already prepared to cast some kind of spell to better present his case.

Sam would just have to wait for the next haunted adventure to prove his abilities.

“There aren’t any cameras. This is all true,” Sam declared, as if that would make any difference. He glanced at Colby as he pulled his blanket tighter around his body. Sam wished Colby had warned him beforehand that they were going to spill their guts to Jake. When they barged into the apartment, he was just waking from his nap. There were voices calling to him from both in and outside of his head; needless to say, he was disoriented.

“Oh yeah, sure,” Jake scoffed with an eyeroll. He had been sitting next to Sam at the beginning of the conversation, but now he was on his feet, searching for the hidden cameras that were surely capturing this poorly thought out prank. “Prove it, then.”

Sam looked to Colby again, expectantly this time. This was his idea, after all.

“Fine,” Colby mumbled. He sought out something to cast a spell on, and his gaze fell on a candle sitting next to the couch on a small black table. He leaned over, grabbed the rim, and held it in the palm of his hand. He smirked at Jake, who watched halfheartedly (pranks weren’t that fun once they’d been revealed, after all).

Sam leaned against the arm of the couch as he settled his gaze on his boyfriend as well. He could feel his skin heating up, and Sallos questioned what Colby was going to do. Sam snickered quietly (who would’ve thought a demon would be so curious?). 

Colby’s eyes fell shut. He took a slow, deep breath and snapped his fingers. The candle wick sparked with an orange flame that hissed.

Jake stumbled back in surprise, mouth falling open as he stared wide eyed at the candle. 

“ _Oh, that was cute_ ,” Sallos teased. “ _It’s been a while since I’ve witnessed such simple magic_.”

Sam chuckled, and thankfully, they thought he was laughing at Jake.

“What the—How did you do that?!” Jake cried. “Wait, hold on, do it again!”

Colby laughed, and he blew out the candle. Jake and Sam watched as Colby repeated the process, and another flame flickered to life on the candle wick.

“That’s crazy!! Again!” Jake exclaimed.

“ _This one is easily entertained_ ,” Sallos commented dryly.

While Colby performed his trick a third and fourth time, Sam headed to the kitchen for a glass of water. He checked the time on his phone as he walked, and whoa, he slept for most of the day? He hated feeling so unproductive, but he actually felt refreshed for the first time in days.

Sam was just reaching for a glass from a cabinet when pain suddenly surged through left his arm and down to his fingertips. He immediately hugged his hand to his chest, bowed his head, and hissed at the burning sensation. He spun around to see if his friends had noticed, and they didn’t.

“What the hell?” Sam growled quietly. With trembling fingers, he tugged the sleeve of his shirt up to his elbow. He turned his arm slowly, searching for the source of the pain. He found a glowing orange symbol seared into his forearm. It was a circle with a complicated sigil drawn inside.

“What the fuck is that?” he demanded. “Sallos!”

“ _It’s my seal. So long as it’s intact, I will remain in this body. In order to free me, you just have to break the circle_.”

“Why does it hurt so bad?”

“ _That’s your body trying to reject me_.”

“Great.” Sam hung his head and clenched his jaw. _Just great_ , he thought bitterly. His arm was definitely numb now. He didn’t want to imagine what the next twenty-four hours will hold.

“Hey.”

Sam spun around in surprise; he hadn’t heard someone walk up behind him. Though, he immediately relaxed when he saw Colby walking around the bar.

“Hey,” he breathed, leaning against the counter. He nonchalantly pulled at his sleeve, quickly trying to hide the mark before Colby saw.

“You okay?” Colby frowned when he reached Sam. “Your face is red.” He reached a hand out and gently pressed his fingers to Sam’s cheek.

“Uh, yeah. I’m fine. Did Jake finally get tired of your trick?”

Colby chuckled. “Yeah, so I let him look through the Book of Shadows.”

Sam nodded. “So, uh, are you still mad at me?”

He didn’t answer at first. Instead, he sighed and leaned against the bar. He watched Sam for a moment, trying to figure out how feelings.

Finally, he shook his head. “No, not really. I hate that you’re lying to me, though.”

“Yeah, I hate it too.” Sam swallowed. “I promise, I’ll tell you everything when I can. You’re just going to have to trust me.”

 _I can’t tell him anything?_ he questioned the demon in his head. _Not even about something that might happen tomorrow?_

“ _If you tell him what will happen tomorrow, the chain of events might be altered. Everything has to go exactly as planned_.”

“Okay,” Colby breathed. He pushed off the counter and began returning to the living room.

Sam reached out and caught his wrist. He pulled Colby back to him and planted a kiss on his lips.

When they pulled away, Sam whispered, “I love you, you know?”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Colby smirked. He trapped Sam against the counter and kissed him again, this time longer than the last. Sam melted at the touch, and they completely forgot about the other beings in the room.

•••••

Hailey looked across the table at her husband. His face was emotionless, but she could see the sweat glistening off his forehead. She wanted to reach for his hand, at least for comfort and reassurance that he was _actually_ there, and she wasn’t in this place by herself.

“So,” a deep voice bellowed, “you say there’s a rogue witch?”

Hailey and Casey turned in the direction of the voice. It was a figure wearing a black cloak, and there were seven more people behind him.

“Yes, High Priest,” Casey answered with a steady head nod. “We’ve tried to persuade him to join our coven multiple times, but to no avail.”

“He’s still a level one witch, though,” Hailey tried defending. “He doesn’t know better.”

The eight cloaked figures talked amongst themselves for a moment. Hailey glanced at Casey once more as an uneasy feeling settled in her stomach. Casey met her gaze, and she was shaken by the excitement glowing in his eyes.

“Well,” the leader finally spoke again, and it startled the young couple, “then I suppose we’ll have to teach him.”


	14. oh my god! okay, it's happening!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> That thing Sallos has been warning Sam about? Yeah…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AO3 did a weird thing again where it didn't italicize everything i told it too. so, a lot of sallos' words aren't written how they're supposed to be :( sorry

Jake stayed well into the night, asking tons of questions and requesting a continuous show of Colby’s magic.

Around eleven, Sam and Colby collectively agreed that Colby needed to take a break. Sam could see Colby growing physically exhausted as he exerted his magic to feed Jake’s excitement, but the cherry on top was Colby slumping tiredly across Sam’s lap.

Immediately, Sam’s fingers raked through Colby’s hair. “Looks like that’s it for the magic show,” he announced and looked sheepishly to Jake.

“Oh, sorry dude,” Jake apologized quickly. “I didn’t know it was that draining.”

“S’okay,” Colby answered. He rolled over, so he could grin at Sam. Sam couldn’t help but smile back, and right when he was about to ask what Colby was thinking about, his boyfriend beat him to it, “Did you order the pizza?”

Sam rolled his eyes. He huffed, but the smile never left. “Yeah. It should be on its way.”

“ _This is adorable_ ,” Sallos surprised him by saying.

 _What??_ Sam thought, bewildered.

“ _I’m a demonic Cupid, so of course I’m going to find this cute_.”

Sam shook his head in disbelief. He was obviously going to tell Colby, and Jake now too, about being possessed and everything, but he wasn’t completely sure they’d believe him. Of all the demons who could’ve possessed him over the last few years (and there have certainly been a lot of nasty ones), he never would’ve imagined it would be Sallos, Demon of Love.

“You know what I just realized?” Jake began, eyes widening as he grasped his idea.

“Hm?” Colby hummed.

“When we stayed overnight in those haunted hotels, Sam, you could see whether we were alone there or not couldn’t you?”

Colby and Jake looked to Sam expectantly. The blond pressed his lips together as he thought back to those trips. Those… Wild trips…

“Uh, well…”

“Shit, we were freaking out, but you must’ve been _terrified_.”

“Not really,” Sam quickly defended. He didn’t like reflecting on the spirits he’d encountered, especially not during the early stages of the Sight when he had no idea what the fuck was happening. “I mean, _kinda_ , but I felt a little better actually seeing what was trying to talk to us.”

That wasn’t a _complete_ lie, but whatever relief he felt seeing the spirit was quickly swallowed by the uneasiness of being _able_ to see the spirit. It was a conflicting time.

Sam’s phone rang on the arm of the couch next to him, and he was more than happy for the distraction. A female voice spoke on the other end, informing him that she was downstairs with his pizza.

Colby begrudgingly sat up, so that Sam could head downstairs. Sam grabbed his wallet off the snack bar and made his way to the door. Just as he was stepping into the hallway, his phone rang again. It was Matt Smith, probably calling about the video they planned to film later that weekend.

“Hey man, what’s up?”

Sam’s voice disappeared as he shut the door and headed for the elevator, leaving his friends in a comfortable silence.

Colby’s eyes were drooping, and he was definitely ready for a nap. Even if for a few minutes, just until Sam came back with the food…

“So… You actually believe Sam?”

Damn, he knew a nap with Jake around wasn’t possible.

Colby cracked an eye open. “Yeah?”

Jake stared at him. Colby’s eyebrows furrowed, and he sat up, so he could return Jake’s heated gaze. The two watched each other for a minute, trying to figure the other out.

“What?” Colby finally asked.

“I honestly can’t tell if you’re joking.”

“I’m not.” Truthfully, he wanted to be annoyed that Jake was questioning both him and Sam, but he couldn’t. It wasn’t too long ago that the roles were switched, and Colby was the skeptical and concerned one while Sam exposed this secret.

“This is one of those things that you’ll just have to see it to believe it. I, lowkey, thought all the haunted videos were starting to make him go a little crazy. Don’t tell him I said that, though.”

Jake nodded. “Yeah, I won’t. What made you believe—”

“Pizza’s here!” Sam announced as he pushed open the door. He was balancing two boxes in one hand while he held his phone to his ear. Now he was on the phone with Elton, finalizing their plans for the Ritual Tunnel.

Jake eagerly ran to the snack bar while Colby followed sluggishly behind. Sam dropped the pizzas off on the counter and stepped to the side to get out of their way.

“Yeah, so, we’ll pick you up around eight all right? Kay, sounds good. I’ll talk to you later then. See ya.”

Sam hung up his phone and laid it on the counter. He waited until Jake and Colby had moved past the pizza boxes before fixing him a plate.

“Who were you talking to?” Colby asked after settling back on the couch. He clicked open a soda can and sat it on the coffee table in front of him.

“Elton. I was letting him know when we’re going to meet for the Ritual Tunnel.”

“Fuck,” Colby whined. “I forgot we promised to do that again.”

“Didn’t you guys get chased out by a cult last time?” Jake asked.

Sam nodded. “Mmhm. Maybe we should actually take a weapon this time.”

“Nah.” Colby smirked a little before taking a bite of his pizza. “We’ll be fine. Probably.”

The trio spent the rest of the night talking. Jake had a lot of questions still, mostly about random stuff like if Colby could teleport or if Sam had any ghost friends.

Colby fell asleep first, a rare sigh among the friends. He settled into the other end of the couch with a pillow hugged to his chest. Sam retrieved blankets from the hall closet before he and Jake finally called it a night.

Until the sun began to peek through the blinds, the night had been peaceful. A comfortable silence fell over the trio that even Sallos didn’t want to disturb.

Then, around eight AM, everything seemed to shift at once.

There was scratching at the door and soft taps near the lock; it sounded like someone was trying to get in. Meanwhile, Sallos sensed the danger lurking in the hallway, and he frantically tried to wake Sam.

Sam’s dream of him and Colby hanging out on the roof of the Warehouse back home was disturbed by a daunting voice bellowing through the field. 

Colby didn’t seem to notice, but it startled Sam enough that he rolled off the roof.

He woke before he could hit the ground. Sam jolted upright on the couch, gasping for air. He blinked and was in the safety of his apartment. Jake and Colby were still asleep next to him. Who was yelling at him, then?

“ _They’re here!” Sallos warned. “ _It’s happening! Grab a knife!_ ”_

__

__

“What?!” Sam cried. “Why do I need a knife?” 

“ _To break the seal! Hurry, they’re almost inside!_ ” 

A whisper cut through the apartment. Sam jumped to his feet, and he watched the front door with wide eyes. 

“Who’s out there?” he demanded. 

_“ _I’m not for sure, but don’t you sense their energy? Their magic is strong._ ”_

“I’m not a fucking witch,” Sam whined. “What are they doing?” 

_“ _Probably trying to break the protection sigil your boyfriend placed on your home. Funny, I didn’t think Colby’s magic was strong enough to keep them out…_ ”_

Sam took a deep breath. He bent down and shook Colby’s leg. “Colby. Colby, wake up!” 

_“ _No! Leave him!_ ”_

“I can’t leave him!” 

“Who are you talking to?” Jake mumbled. He stared up at him tiredly, obviously not hearing whatever was trying to get through the front door. 

“Is Jake in danger too?” 

_“ _Not as much as you two, but yes._ ”_

Jake pushed himself up. “Sam, what—” 

“Hang on.” Sam headed for the kitchen. “I have to find something sharp, apparently.” 

Jake turned to Colby, still sound asleep on the other couch. This had to be a dream, right? Sam wasn’t supposed to be the one talking crazy like this. Maybe Jake should just go back to sleep… 

The lock clicked. Sam froze mid reach, fingers just barely brushing the silverware in the drawer. Jake had been trying to fall back asleep, but the sound of the door opening woke him back up. Who would be coming over right now? This early? 

“Boys,” Casey’s voice called. He strolled into the apartment dressed in a black cloak with its hood pulled over his head. He stopped just inside the room and scanned the area. 

Just as he was about to inspect the kitchen, Jake raised his head over the couch and asked, “Who the fuck are you?” 

_Sam inhaled sharply. _Fuck Jake, why’d you do that?__

“ _Quickly, grab a weapon_ ,” Sallos ordered. 

_I can’t fight them!_ Sam argued. 

_“ _It’s not for fighting! Not yet, anyways!_ ”_

Casey scowled. “You’re the one who interrupted our conversation yesterday.” 

Sam inched forward and wracked his brain for ideas. He looked around for help, and his gaze fell on a red box cutter lying next to the microwave. 

Casey raised his hand toward Jake and spoke the same spell Colby used to put Sam to sleep. Jake collapsed on the floor; his head just barely missed the corner of the table. 

The sound of his body hitting the ground made Colby stir. 

“Jake!” Sam cried. He had just pocketed the box cutter when Jake fell. 

Casey whirred around on him, and he grinned. 

_“Hello Samuel.”_

__

__

Colby pushed himself up and looked around. “Sam?” he mumbled, squinting. He took in his surroundings slowly, sizing up the strange figures dressed in black invading his home. There was somebody in the kitchen, too. They were heading straight for… 

“Hey, what the hell—” Colby shouted. He jumped to his feet and stormed at the stranger backing Sam into a corner. He raised a finger and hissed a spell that summoned a strong wind into the apartment. A current swept through the kitchen and shoved the figure to the side. 

He was too late, though. When the figure stumbled to the left, Sam crumpled to the right. Colby rushed forward and caught him before he could hit the ground. 

“Sam,” he mumbled, gently lowering his boyfriend to the floor. He knelt over Sam’s body and brushed the blond’s bangs to the side. “Sam, wake up. C’mon. Fuck, what did they do?” 

Colby threw a glare over his shoulder at the hooded stranger. He rose to his feet and clenched his hands into tight fists. 

“What the fuck did you do to him!” he shouted. 

Casey chuckled. “Oh, would you like a demonstration?” He raised a hand toward Colby. 

“Get the hell away from me!” Colby glowered at his neighbor. He focused on Casey’s right sleeve, dangling beneath his arm and gently swaying back and forth. Colby could feel his inside heating up, but he wasn’t sure if it was from anger or magic. Either way, he knew he had to use it. 

Colby snapped his fingers, and Casey’s sleeve caught fire. A flame flickered to life around the seam and hungrily devoured the material. It caught Casey off guard, and he frantically waved his arm in a feeble attempt to extinguish himself. 

However, at the same time Colby casted his spell, Casey counterattacked. The effects were simultaneous. Casey caught fire, and Colby fell into a deep sleep, just like his friends. His knees buckled, and he fell right next to Sam. His head rolled to the side, and his forehead rested against Sam’s. 

Casey stepped over them to reach the sink and put out his sleeve. As he did that, the other members of their coven were working on transporting Jake, Sam, and Colby. 

Casey scowled at Sam and Colby before barking at his coven members. “Hurry up! The faster we get them to the Council, the closer we’ll be to achieving our goal.” His lips turned up in a cruel smile at the idea. 

Nobody noticed Hailey lingering by the doorway. She was quiet, and her eyebrows were pinched together as she witnessed the fate of her neighbors. 

There was a burning pit in her stomach and a need to do something about it. 


	15. snc vs the witches council || part one

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Colby is questioned by the council.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> did anyone else notice that i *predicted* sam & colby having their fortunes read with tarot cards before it happened? aaanddd i *predicted* the death card? 
> 
> ooooOoOoOOohhhh maybe i'm psychic
> 
> (i'm justing kidding that was a total coincidence lol)

Somebody pulled a bag off Colby’s head, and it startled him awake.

He stood in what looked like the sanctuary of a church, but the floor was cleared of all pews. There were chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, lined with crystals that glistened under the moonlight shining through the stained glass windows. Whether the bulbs in them worked or not was a question, because the only lighting in the room came from candles set up around the outer edge of the building (maybe the chandeliers were just for decoration? He didn’t know).

There was a stage in front of Colby; it stretched from one end of the room to the other. It had three levels, and each were lined with people clad in dark robes. Directly in front of Colby stood Casey and Hailey, one donning a more guilty look than the other (which confused the hell out of Colby). Between them was a taller man with broad shoulders, tanned skin, and scruffy black heard.

“Colby Brock,” the man greeted with a smile, “I’ve heard so much about you.”

Colby pressed his lips together, and he eyed his neighbors with furrowed brows. This felt like a fever dream. What the hell was happening?

“I am Rodrick, leader of the Witches’ Council.”

 _Oh fuck, please let this be a dream_.

Colby looked around. When his shoulders moved, metal jingled behind him. He tried twisting his wrists, and he froze at the tightness wrapped around them. When did they handcuff him??

He glared at the terrible trio. “Where are my friends?”

Rodrick was confused for a moment, but then something seemed to click. His face softened, and he explained, “Ah, them. They’re safe, for now. We know one of them has the Sight though, so he’s going to be questioned as well.”

“Questioned for what? He doesn’t have magic.” Colby scowled. “Neither of them have any part in this.”

“Hm, we’ll be the judge of that. For right now, focus on yourself. This is your trial, after all.”

“My _what_?”

Handcuffs, a trial, separated from Sam… No, no, he definitely was _not_ having flashbacks to jail.

“My friend here has informed me about your rogue wizardry and blatantly ignoring his authority.”

Colby rolled his eyes. “What authority? He’s not the boss of me.”

“As one of Los Angeles’ representatives, he is in charge of keeping every witch in his area in line and following the rules.” 

“That’s a big job.”

“That’s why every witch must belong to a coven, so we can keep an eye on you and make sure you’re not doing anything reckless to get us exposed.”

“Well, I’m not. Literally nothing I’ve done up to this point has been reckless, and what do you mean ‘exposed?’ Tons of people claim to be witches, and they aren’t doing anything to hide it.”

“They study and practice our lifestyle, but those of us with actual magical abilities remain in the shadows.”

Rodrick raised a hand in front of his face; his nails were painted black, and Colby had to hand over the smallest ounce of respect for it. The man snapped his fingers, and one by one, the chandeliers flickered to life. They were lit by LED lights instead of candles, so the church brightened instantly.

“There, much better,” he mumbled. He turned his head and admitted to Hailey, “I’m not a fan of just the candle lights. Maybe it’s just me getting old, but it’s difficult to see in here!”

Hailey mumbled an agreement.

“Anyways! Imagine if the world discovered us and our capability to do things like that!”

Colby nodded slowly. “There would be a lot more lazy people in the world.”

Rodrick looked like he wanted to be annoyed, but he had to agree. “If the mortal world knew about our powers, they’d never leave us alone. And yes, Casey, we could fight back, and we could even win,” he threw a knowing (or was it annoyed?) look at the man next to him, “but why bring more violence to this already bloody world?”

Colby squinted; he wasn’t expecting the trial to be this… Understanding.

“To keep the peace, we need to remain peaceful among ourselves. We need to stick with _our_ beliefs and rules, because straying from our path could have dire consequences.”

That sounded like there was more to the conversation, but Rodrick didn’t continue. Instead, he stepped toward Colby and spoke softer.

“Listen, I’m willing to let you off with a warning because you’re still new to all this. I’ll even let your friends go… Right after the one with the Sight clears his questioning.”

“What!?” Casey growled. He stormed toward his leader and grabbed Rodrick’s shoulder, forcing the man to look at him. “You’re going to let this brat go? He’s a delinquent! He broke into my house with astral projection and invaded the privacy of my wife and I!”

Colby’s mouth fell open. “How did you know about that?!”

“And I overheard him talking to his boyfriend–the one with the Sight.” Casey glared at Colby like he was gum on the bottom of his shoe. “He was asking Sam to help him summon a demon. I don’t know who he heard it from, but someone told him about the power he could obtain from capturing a demon. I’ve been suspicious about them since the first day we met.”

“Wait,” Colby frowned, “that sounds like what that Marcus Pierce guy did.”

Rodrick narrowed his eyes. “How do you know about him?” He advanced forward, and Colby stumbled back.

“I–I don’t know! I think someone told Sam about him a few weeks ago, and then–” Colby’s gaze shifted to Casey. “And then Casey actually mentioned his name when I astral projected. I wouldn’t know if it weren’t for him.”

Rodrick spun around to face Casey. “Is this true?”

Casey shook his head. “I was only airing my concerns with Hailey about Colby following in Marcus’ footsteps. Right, honey?”

Hailey froze when the heated glares landed on her. She pulled at her sleeves and avoided eye contact.

“Uh, well–”

Colby remembered what she was doing in her apartment. She was setting up for a spell, and she immediately hid her supplies when Casey entered the room. Could she have been plotting against him? Maybe she wasn’t actually on his side.

“C’mon, Hailey,” Colby begged quietly.

“Don’t you see what he’s doing?” Casey yelled. “He’s trying to turn us against each other! It’s exactly what Marcus did!” He glowered at the boy. “I say we kill them all.”

“Fuck you, dude,” Colby spat. “You’re a bigger threat than you’re making me out to be! I only astral projected to figure out what the hell you were planning, because you were freaking us out!”

Casey raised his hand. He slowly curled his fingers in, like he was squeezing the air out of Colby’s lungs. Colby’s eyes went wide, and he choked on his thinning oxygen supply.

“You’ve been a pain in my ass since I met you,” Casey hissed in an octave only Colby could hear.

“Right back… Atcha. Bitch,” Colby spat. His legs were beginning to feel like jelly, and his vision was getting blotchy. Colby fell to his knees, coughing and gasping.

Suddenly, the double doors behind Colby burst open with enough force for the doorknobs to drill holes into the wall.

Casey released his hold in surprise, and Colby rolled onto his side. His shoulder shook with heavy breaths as he tried slowing his heart rate. His head fell toward the door, and for the fifth time that morning, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

A woman shorter than Sam with blonde hair tied in a bun and fierce blue eyes narrowed at Casey strutted through the sanctuary. She worse a black robe with a white inner lined collar, similar to what Catholic priests wore. There wasn’t a cross necklace, like Colby had been expecting.

Following close behind was Sam and Jake. From what Colby could see, they were fine. Sam was on Jake’s back, eyelids half shut as he dozed in and out. There was a bandage wrapped around his forearm.

The woman stopped at Colby. She knelt behind his back and tore the cuffs off his wrists.

“What the hell?” he muttered, staring wide eyed at her. “Who are you?”

She smirked at him. “I’m a friend of Sam’s.”

With his hands free, Colby was able to sit up and climb to his feet. His vision was still a little blurry, and his throat hurt, but he could at least reach his friends.

“Sam,” he whispered. He helped the blond off Jake’s back and immediately pulled him into a tight hug. “Are you okay? Are you guys okay?” Colby buried his face into Sam’s neck. “Oh my god, I’m glad you’re alive.” He kissed Sam’s hair.

“I’m here too,” Jake teased, the corner of his mouth twitching into a smirk.

Colby rolled his eyes. He reached an arm out and squeezed Jake’s shoulder. “I know, man. I’m glad you’re both all right.”

Jake’s gaze dropped to Sam. “Well…”

Rodrick eyed the priestess carefully. “Who are you, and what have you done with Gladys?” He stepped forward with his shoulders tense and his chin raised. The air was different with this woman in here; everybody sensed it.

Something dark definitely just stepped in the room.

Gladys met him head on. It was kind of an amusing sight with the height difference. He towered over her, but she never wavered.

“I am Sallos, Duke of Hell,” she announced, glaring over each council member, “and you idiots are trying to kill the wrong witch.”


	16. snc vs the witches council || part two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam and Jake to the rescue!

When Jake woke up, he was lying on the ground. By the looks of the iron bars towering over him, he guessed he was in jail, but he didn’t know why. What happened last? Were they filming a video? Trespassing? He groaned at the idea. How was he going to explain this to his parents?

“Shh!”

Jake rolled onto his knees and sat up. Sam was standing by the door, glaring down at his friend. One hand was wrapped around an iron bar, and the other held a box cutter in a loose grip.

“If you make any noise, they’ll come for us,” Sam explained sternly. “It’s not time yet.”

“Time for what?” Jake whispered. “And what the hell are you doing with a box cutter?!”

Sam pointed the blade at Jake. “I’m going to slit your throat if you don’t _shut up_.”

Jake backed away. He held his hands out in defense and watched the blond with wide eyes.

Sam sighed deeply and turned back to the door. He eyed the small corridor they were stuck in. It was definitely in a basement; he remembered all three flights downstairs. By the sickening feeling in his stomach, he guessed they were in a church. They were in a windowless room with pale white walls and dim lighting. Directly across from the cage was a large brown cross. Sam scowled at it.

A door next to the cross opened, and a woman dressed in a black robe stepped inside. “Finally awake I see,” she commented with a smile. 

“Where’s Colby?” Jake demanded. He almost stormed forward, but he remembered Sam’s threat and chose to stay put.

“The council is speaking with him.”

“So… What’re we doing down here?” Sam asked, though he already had an idea. He didn’t like the way she was clutching a Bible to her chest.

Her eyes were pretty and blue that shone even in the dark lighting. However, as she stepped up the column of bars that separated the two, a dark shadow fell over her pupils.  
“ _Cristo_ ,” she whispered.

It stung, but not as badly as she’d been hoping. It made his skin boil, and he had to step back to hiss at the uncomfortable scratching down his throat.

“I don’t know why you’ve chosen this boy to possess, but it ends today,” she declared. With her chin raised and her grip on the Bible tight, she finished her promise with a hateful spat, “I’m going to send you straight back to Hell!”

Jake’s mouth fell open. “Uh––What??” His eyes darted from his best friend to the scary priestess. “Are you saying he’s––You’re a––”

Sam clenched his jaw as he shifted back. C’mon kid, he urged. Wake up already.

“What’re you gonna do?” Sallos taunted. “Exorcise me? Sorry to burst your bubble, but it won’t work.”

“Oh?” The woman raised an eyebrow. She flipped open the Bible and pressed her finger onto the page. “ _Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica potestas––_ ”

Sallos turned to Jake. “Grab her necklace!” 

“What?! Why?!” 

The blond’s eyes glowed a dark shade of red. “ _Do it_.”

Suddenly, Jake’s brain shut down. He surged forward absently, like someone else was piloting his body.

“ _Omnis incursio infernalis adversarii, omnis legio, omnis congregatio et secta diabolica––_ ”

The priestess didn’t notice Jake inch toward her from the side. She was too focused on the heaviness settled over the room and the pained screams from her victim as she neared the end of the exorcism. Her favorite part was listening to the evil spirits finally being vanquished to the firing depths they crawled out of.

Sallos pulled at his hair. He could feel this kid’s heart _squeezing_ and his blood lighting his veins aflame as it rushed throughout his body. His body was already rejecting the demon, and tearing itself apart in the process, but this might actually be the end of him.

The incantation wasn’t going to send Sallos back to Hell; it wasn’t strong enough. However, it _was_ strong enough to tear a human body to pieces if he continued resisting.

“Jake!” Sallos growled.

Jake was at the door now, reaching his arm between the iron bars. His fingers stretched as far as he could manage, just a little closer…

“ _Ergo draco maledicte, ut ecclesiam tuam secura––_ ”

Sallos reached for the box cutter in his back pocket. He didn’t want to, not yet, but he was running out of time.

“ _Tibi facias libertate servire––_ ”

Jake’s fingers hooked around the golden chain, and he yanked it from her neck. It collapsed after two tugs and fell to the floor silently. 

“I got it!” he cried.

The priestess looked up from her book in surprise. “What did you––?”

Sallos’ eyes glowed as he grinned. “ _Perfect._ ”

He pressed the edge of the knife to the sigil seared into Sam’s skin. Carefully, he dragged the knife across the outer circle. Blood trickled out of the wound and dripped off his arm.

The dim lights began to flicker, slowly at first, and then they exploded. One by one, like firecrackers. Jake snapped out of his trance and shuffled away from the lights with his arms wrapped around his head for protection.

The priestess stared at the boy with wide eyes. Quickly, she searched for the place she left off. When she spoke again, her voice was uneven and hesitant, “ _Te rogamus_ , uh, _audi––_ ”

Sallos spun around to face her. “I told you it doesn’t work on me, bitch.”

Then, Sam tilted his head back, and a black smoke rose out of his body. It was like a storm cloud, large and dense and ready to destroy anything in its path. It arched into the air and phased through the iron bars, straight into the shocked mouth of the priestess.

Jake was really thankful his eyes were closed.

When he opened them again, Sam was just falling to the ground, along with the Bible.

Sam awoke with a gasp that quickly turned into coughing. He wiped his forehead with the back of his hand and looked around.

“What the fuck?” he asked. “Where am I?”

Jake crawled over to him. “Where you are is the least of your worries, man.” He helped Sam up slowly. He wrapped an arm around Sam’s shoulders to steady him, and together, they gazed up at the stranger staring down at them.

“The time’s come, Samuel,” Sallos informed.

“Sallos?” Sam cried. “How––What did you do?!”

“You knew you were being possessed!?” Jake yelled.

Sallos turned his head to the side. He disappeared around a corner and returned a moment later with a white first aid kit. With his free hand, he tore the lock off the cell and tossed it to the side.

“Wrap that up, let’s go,” he ordered, pointing to the wound on Sam’s forearm. He handed over the first aid kit, which Jake grabbed tentatively.

“Okay um,” Jake began, opening the box, “I’m gonna need some serious answers. Sam, I know I shouldn’t be surprised that you actually got possessed by something but… But I am.” He looked at his friend with heavy concern; it wasn’t an expression he wore often. “I can’t believe any of that just happened.”

“It’s a long story,” Sam explained quietly. “I’ll fill you and Colby in on it later.” He raised his arm to give Jake easier access. He watched quietly as Jake cleaned and wrapped the wound.

When he was finished, Sallos pulled Sam to his feet. “We don’t have much time.”

“Why are you helping us?” Jake asked. “I thought demons were evil.”

Sallos ignored him. “Let’s go.”

Sam grabbed Jake’s arm as he swayed to the right. He felt dizzy, like he’d stood up too fast times ten.

“You good?” Jake asked.

“I don’t feel good.”

“Here, get on my back.” Jake stepped in front and squatted down. As Sam climbed on his back, he warned, “And tell me if you’re gonna puke or something.”

“Okay,” Sam chuckled weakly. He clasped his hands around Jake’s neck. “Let’s go find Colby.”

•••••

“I am Sallos, Duke of Hell,” the woman announced, “and you idiots are trying to kill the wrong witch.”

Colby’s eyes widened, and his mouth fell open. He stared at Jake over Sam’s head. “What?!” he exclaimed.

Jake shrugged helplessly and pointed to Sam. “Ask him!”

Sam raised his chin, so he could meet Colby’s eye. He smiled sheepishly. “It’s a long story.”

“That’s what he told me too!”

“This is impossible,” Rodrick growled. “How did you get here?”

Sallos shrugged. “It was an inside job.”

Sam tugged on Colby’s arm. “We need to get out of here.”

“This is just further proof that those two can’t be trusted!” Casey cried. “That boy is working with the Devil!” He pointed accusingly at Sam.

“No I wasn’t!” Sam defended.

Casey stalked over, dark eyes narrowed into slits. “How else do you explain this, a Duke of Hell coming to your aid?”

Colby stepped in front of Sam before Casey could get any closer.

“We had a common enemy,” Sallos explained. “This man has been lying to all of you! He has the Sight as well. He used it to summon me to his old home to do his bidding, and then he trapped me there for over a decade.” He hissed at the man.

Something long and dark moved into Sam’s peripheral vision. He turned his head slightly toward the doors, and his breath caught.

Rodrick frowned. “Casey, is this true?”

Casey glared. “Of course it’s not true! You’re going to believe him over me?”

Sam grabbed Colby and Jake’s biceps. He stepped back slowly and pulled his friends with him. When Colby and Jake turned to question him, they stopped in their tracks. 

Sam’s eyes were glowing red, and he was watching something on the ground.

“If it’s not true,” Sam began, never taking his eyes off the creature, “then that means you can’t see what’s coming, right?”

Rodrick frowned. He watched the boy for a moment before demanding, “What are you talking about?”

Casey rolled his eyes. “Of course I can’t see––”

His pupils began to glow, just like Sam’s. Once his gaze fell on the creature slithering toward him, he couldn’t look away.

Colby turned to Sam. Quietly, he asked, “What is it?”

“Crocodile.”

Sallos smirked. “She’s _my_ version of a hellhound.” He twisted around and looked to the trio watching fearfully from the side. “It’s time for you kids to get out of here.”

“Excuse me?” Rodrick cried. “You can’t just come in here and take over _my_ trial––”

Sallos snapped his fingers, and the council leader doubled over in pain. He coughed into his hand, and droplets of blood splattered across his skin.

“The only thing I care about right now is getting my revenge on this bastard, so that’s what I’m going to do. And I don’t think they,” he pointed at Sam, Colby, and Jake, “should witness that. So, bye. Get lost.”

Sam nodded frantically. “Uh, yeah. Good idea. Let’s go.”

He tugged Colby and Jake toward the door. They moved quickly; the stares on their backs were heavy and made them shudder. Sam looked over his shoulder once before they disappeared outside.

Sallos nodded to him, a silent thanks. Sam returned it.

The door fell shut behind them, and the remaining beings were left in a bone chilling silence.

Sallos’ crocodile broke the silence with a loud growl that everybody heard.

•••••

They didn’t speak until they’d reached the safety of Sam and Colby’s apartment.

Sam pulled at one of his sleeves; the other was resting above his bandage, and he didn’t want to mess with that yet. He sat down on the end of the couch, closest to the kitchen. Jake and Colby followed, each taking a seat across from him.

“I met him that night in the trap house,” Sam began.

“Wait, recently?” Jake asked. “You’re the one who broke in?” He chuckled, only a little bit. “Why am I not surprised?”

“What happened, exactly?” Colby demanded.

Sam swallowed thickly. He knew Colby wouldn’t be happy with the story, but he told it anyways. He had to; he was tired of lying. Even if Colby was pissed at him for this incredibly dumb and reckless decision, at least there wouldn’t be any secrets between them anymore.

When he finished, his friends were quiet. Sam pulled at his sleeve again, anxiously waiting for a response.

“I know it was dumb,” he added. “I know I could’ve been seriously hurt, but… But first of all, he didn’t give me a choice. And second of all, we had similar goals. He wanted revenge on Casey, and I wanted Casey to leave us alone. He knew something was going to happen, and I knew we couldn’t do it by ourselves. I’m sorry.”

Colby sighed deeply. “Are you okay?”

Sam nodded. “Yeah, fine. More fine than I thought I’d be, actually.”

“Okay.” Colby grabbed Sam’s hand. “Please don’t ever do that again, for the love of God.”

The blond laughed. “Deal.”

Jake smirked. “Dude, I can’t believe you have a demon as a friend. That’s gonna get you street cred.”

“Street cred in the afterlife?”

“Exactly.”

They laughed, and whatever tension in the room evaporated.

For the next few hours, they did nothing but play video games or watch movies. Jake didn’t want to return to his own place; none of them felt safe splitting up.

Sam crashed shortly after Colby ordered pizza. He’d gone back to their room to change shirts and never returned. When Colby went back to check on him, he found Sam curled up in the middle of the bed.

Colby smiled as he stepped into the room. He leaned over Sam and pressed a kiss to his forehead.

“I love you,” he said softly, brushing Sam’s hair to the side.

His doorbell lured him back into the living room. He was a little confused because surely the pizza wasn’t there already.

Colby peeked through the peephole, and he muttered under his breath.

“Who is it?” Jake asked.

Instead of answering, Colby answered the door.

Rodrick stood in the hallway. He had changed out of his black robe and now wore a pair of jeans with a t shirt. It was a stark contrast from his cult like attire earlier that day.

“Colby,” he greeted with a nod.

“Rodrick…”

“After careful consideration, I’ve decided that you will be joining the Claiborne coven.”

Colby rolled his eyes. “Seriously? This again?”

“Ah ah, let me finish. You will join this coven as a part time member. In other words, you will be expected to study under a higher level witch. Since you’ll be part time, you won’t have to attend any meetings you don’t want to. You’ll still be expected to follow the rules of the coven, though.”

“So basically, I’ve never had a choice in this, but now there’s not a power hungry maniac in the mix? Awesome.” Colby scowled.

“Even better: There’s not a power hungry maniac living across from you.”

Colby frowned. “What? What happened to him?”

Rodrick chewed on his lower lip. “As it turns out, Sallos had a larger bone to pick than I realized. Casey Claiborne is no longer your concern.”

A sickly feeling settled in Colby’s stomach as he thought about what that could possibly mean.

“Someone will contact you soon about your training. I hope this is the last time we speak, Colby. This is the first and only warning I’m giving you.”

Rodrick’s eyes narrowed to prove his point. He nodded stiffly and stalked off toward the elevator.

Colby joined Jake on the couch.

“Everything okay?” Jake asked.

Colby sighed. “Yeah, I guess so. We all made it out in one piece, so how bad can things be?”

Jake nodded and grinned. “Well said, my friend.”

They enjoyed the rest of their day. Nothing supernatural came into conversation again; they forbid it. Witches, ghosts, demons, rituals… It was all something that could wait for another day.

And of course, that day came a few days later at the Ritual Tunnel…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oneeee chapterrrrr leftttttt!!!
> 
> who's excited? i'm excited!
> 
> the next book already has so many solby moments, gahh... i can't wait to start writing it! :D


	17. until next time!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our boys take a break.

Colby shut off the camera and detached it from its stand.

“I hate that we have to do this,” Sam sighed as he watched Colby set the camera on the table.

“I know, but after what happened, we need a break. We’re just lucky something else happened at the Ritual Tunnel that we can put the blame on.”

“Yeah, that was wild.” Sam crossed his legs in his seat while Colby sat next to him. “I really wasn’t expecting other people to be there that late. It would’ve been terrifying had that whole thing with the council not happened.”

Colby shrugged. “I guess. Either way, I was going to kick that guy’s ass for breaking your camera.”

“To be fair, we were the ones acting suspicious.”

“I don’t care.”

Sam chuckled. He rose from the couch and reached for the camera. “I guess I’ll go edit this bit into the beginning.”

Colby reached for his wrist and yanked him back to the couch. “Do it later,” he whined. He intertwined his fingers with Sam’s and smiled softly. “Let’s just stay here for now.”

Sam returned the grin. He draped an arm around Colby’s waist and snuggled into his chest.

Colby kicked his feet up on the coffee table, careful to miss the camera and the tripod. His fingers trailed Sam’s arm, up and down at a soothing pace. His cheek fell against Sam’s hair. There was a silent agreement between them to remain in that position for at least a little while.

•••••

The fans were, as you can imagine, devastated to hear the announcement of their break. There were mixed reactions of worry and confusion, but neither boy had a chance to see them. After they posted on their Instagrams about the new video, they deleted all social media from their phones (it was Sam’s idea, because he knew they’d be tempted).

The following week was easy, for lack of a better word. It wasn’t really relaxing, because Coachella was fast approaching, and they were too excited to sleep at night. It wasn’t really simple either, because who knew choosing matching music festival outfits would be so difficult?

But this wasn’t supernatural business. There weren’t any ghosts/demons trying to speak to Sam, and there weren’t any evil neighbors plotting against them. Instead, it was hanging with friends, spending time with each other, taking a break for the first time since they started making videos…

That much they could handle. _That_ was easy.

Sam was standing in the doorway, one foot in their apartment and the other in the hall. He was talking to Jake and Tara, eagerly discussing how fucking awesome this weekend was going to be.

At a break in the conversation, Sam called into their home, “Colby! You ready yet?”

Colby rounded the corner slowly; he was trying to button his overalls. He already had one side, but the other was giving him trouble for some reason.

“Yeah,” he mumbled. He stopped just before the doorway, fumbling hopelessly with the button. “Ugh, what the hell…” Colby looked up at Sam and asked, “Does this look okay unbuttoned?”

Sam pressed his lips together. It looked _way_ better than okay, but he wouldn’t admit that right now… In front of Tara and Jake.

“Mmhm.”

Colby’s eyes narrowed, and he raised an eyebrow with a smirk. “Tell me how it looks, Sammy.”

Sam rolled his eyes. “It looks fine. Can we go?”

Colby tugged Sam toward him, out of view. His other hand rested on Sam’s thigh, fingers innocently dragging along the fabric of his jeans.

“Oh my god, we’re literally about to go somewhere _public_ ,” Sam groaned quietly.

“Just tell me how I look, and we’ll go.”

Sam took a deep breath. He could feel Colby’s fingers slipping to his inner thigh, getting closer and closer to––

“You look hot, babe. It’s a good look on you.”

“I bet it’d look even better on you.”

Sam chewed on his lip. He reached out and cupped Colby's cheek with his hand. Colby's eyes switched between Sam's and Sam's lips. Sam leaned forward, fingers now curled in Colby's hair, lips just inches apart, close enough for them to feel each other's breath…

“You can wait a few days," Sam whispered. He released his grip on Colby's hair and stepped away. Like nothing even happened, he asked, "Seriously, can we go now?” He was already starting to inch toward the door.

Colby glared. "Fuck you, dude."

"Yeah, you wish."

As Sam turned to the door, Colby's arms wrapped around his waist and trapped him against the taller's chest. His lips lowered to Sam's ear. He whispered, "I'm gonna wreck you for that when we come home."

Colby then kissed his cheek and continued on into the hallway.

Sam shook his head in disbelief. “I hate you,” he mumbled, despite the fact that his cheeks were now a deep shade of red.

Jake and Tara didn’t comment when Sam finally joined them in the hallway, but they shared knowing looks as they headed for the elevator.

Sam locked the door behind him. He spared a glance at the room across the hall, and he wondered for a moment what the Claibornes were up to. Actually, there was just _one_ remaining now, wasn’t there? He’d be lying if he didn’t feel a little bit guilty about it.

Colby, somehow, knew exactly what Sam was thinking. Then again, he always had a knack for figuring that out. He wordlessly grabbed Sam’s hand and led him to the elevator. His grip was tight, a silent attempt to bring Sam back to the present.

Their only concern at that moment should be making it to the music festival, and he’d be damned if he let Sam wallow in guilt for the next three days.

“This is why we’re taking a break,” Colby explained softly.

“I know.” Sam took a deep breath. “You’re right; it’s in the past.”

Colby smiled halfheartedly. He kissed Sam’s temple as they arrived at the elevator. Tara and Jake shuffled to one side, and Tara pressed the button.

The elevator doors shut on the top floor of their building, and Sam and Colby were determined to forget about everything associated with the penthouse level, at least for the time being.

At least until they returned home in a few days, and at least until Sam logged into his email to find a particularly unique message from a man named Matthew Walker.

Then, a whole new adventure would start. Or… maybe just a continuation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so, you've made it to the end of my book. thank you sooo much for reading this far, i hope you've enjoyed! if you did, then please join me for round two. it'll be called The Seer and… i'm not entirely sure when it'll be up (sorry, i wish i could give you a day). i'm still working out some kinks, but it'll be soon! keep an eye out.
> 
> thank you again to everyone who left comments and kudos. i hope you all have an awesome day :)


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